Complaint Review: TheDirty.com

I am a longtime fan, and user of a website called TheDirty, where gossipers get into catfights and lie about each other. I used to enjoy watching the crazy lies people would cook up to make each other look bad. While I would never post, I would read, and apparently reading was enough to almost destroy my financial freedom.

 I got a call from my bank at 11pm, informing me that my account had been frozen due to 'unusual spending habits', which needless to say prompted me to wake up and get out of bed; desperate to figure out what was happening. After several hours of playing detective, I manage to reverse almost half of the charges these people had made on my identity's behalf. A brief converstation with the operator lead me to have every electronic device I own scanned by a professional for spyware. He insisted that it was likely I was the victim of a "phishing" attack, which steals desired information from infected computers/mobile devices.

 I dropped off my computer at a local PC forensics place; and took my phone to AT&T. While at AT&T, they scanned all apps in my phone, and something called "APK" files, which can hide from laymen like myself. After a few minutes, the technician came back with a frown.

 "Your phone has downloaded several suspicious apk files and is feeding data to someone else.", he said.

"What the hell does that mean? Where did I get that?"

"Well, your browser history shows you visit three websites: CNN, scotia and TheDirty. It looks like TheDirty downloaded suspicious software to your phone and shared your pictures, contact information and possibly much worse to someone else."

"Well is there anything I can do about it?"

"Yeah. Don't visit thedirty, and file a report with the FBI's internet crime division. Sometimes sites like that allow third parties to plant malware on it's visitors for various reasons, and that site is particularly scummy."

 His words hit me like a hammer. Right about then, I get a call from the PC forensic tech to inform me that my PC had a similar spyware, planted from www.thedirty.com. I'd never posted anyone on that site and always had my share of laughs at it. Until now, now that my life has been put in a grinder since Nik Richie (who refuses to answer my emails asking for him to alert other fans of the site to clean their computers and not visit the site until he can clean it up) allows hackers to run amok on his site.