That definitely would go into the suspicious category. Some people do weird things.

I met three people all of whom did something similar to what you're talking about. Each said they were from Ghana after we talked on Yahoo. I played around with the first two a little bit for fun but as soon as the third one said Ghana I went offline to them without saying goodbye.

Another woman went straight from a message to IM to a phone number and then a meeting. There is no telling what to expect.

With due respect, that is the kind of fear-mongering I am talking about. Never ever click on things sent to you as attachments. Download them to disk and run a virus scan. The only things you should download to your computer from another user are multimedia files most of which end in .jpg, .gif, .bmp, .avi. .rm, .mpg, .mp3.

That news report appeals to business owners whose employees may open a trojan horse allowing entry onto their networks by others. The average hacker is not interested in you they want into business networks.

What information do you keep on your computer for that matter? Can I find your credit card number and the security code? How about your bank account numbers? Social security number? Your address? If you have that personal info on a computer delete it and empty the trashcan. That info does not belong on a personal computer.

I have been using computers for over 20 years and never been infected. I was in the computer industry for over 15 years. Its ok to interact with strangers but you need to use your head.