I don't usually look at Facebook — let alone click anything on my feed. But on May 15, I fell for a tantalizing headline. I thought it was a reputable news source, but I was wrong. After I clicked, my computer froze, and a threatening, Microsoft-branded warning popped up on the screen. A robotic woman's voice started talking authoritatively, instructing: "Important security message. Your computer has been locked up. Your IP address was used without your knowledge or consent to visit websites that contain an identity theft virus. To unlock the computer, please call support immediately. Please do not attempt to shut down or restart your computer. Doing so may lead to data loss and identity theft. The computer lock is aimed to stop illegal activity. Please call our support immediately." Instead of calling "support," I wisely texted Don Eggert, Seven Days' creative director, associate publisher and self-taught IT guy. He responded immediately: "That is a fake alarm. It's trying to trick you into giving up remote access to your computer. Don't click on anything or call anyone. You could get locked out, and they might steal your personal info." He continued: "Are you able to use the computer at all?" The answer was no. And I was afraid to touch anything on my MacBook Pro. Until this got fixed, I couldn't work. So, I drove over to Don's house in Winooski. It took him seconds to force-quit my web browser, Google Chrome, and remove the adware app. I felt like an idiot when he noted, "Because you don't even use Microsoft Windows, that's a dead giveaway." Temporarily relieved but with an ongoing feeling of digital insecurity, I got back to the paper. Don does this kind of intervention for everyone at Seven Days — in addition to his other marketing and design duties. Unfortunately, he's not available to help the other Vermonters who are increasingly falling for scams like this — and, in some cases, losing millions. In this week's cover story, Derek Brouwer reports that Americans ages 60 and older lost nearly $3.5 billion to cyber cons last year, up from less than $1 billion in 2020. Closer to home, he writes, "More than 150 older Vermonters told the FBI that they'd been scammed last year for a collective $4.8 million. The true tally is almost certainly much higher. Cyber scams often go unreported by victims who…