Computer Hijack Victims To Be Compensated

Thousands of people who ran up huge phone bills trying to download erotic pictures to their computers will get $2.74 million in refunds from companies that rerouted their calls through the eastern European country of Moldova.

The refunds are part of two settlements the Federal Trade Commission reached with several firms and individuals who used a supposedly free software program to connect more than 38,000 consumers to costly international telephone numbers - in effect hijacking their computer modems.

Internet visitors were told they could access erotic photographs by downloading the program. Unknown to the customers, the program cut them off from their local Internet providers and reconnected them to a number assigned to Moldova, an country that borders Romania.

Phone charges, up to $2 a minute, continued to mount until the computer was turned off, even if the customer had left the erotic websites.