A pest control tech was in my apartment alone and hacked onto my PC, what should I do?
Question Details:I don't know exactly what he did on my computer. A pest control tech came to my apt to spray for bugs. He asked me to leave for at least 2 hours because of the chemicals, and he would lock up the apt on his way out. I returned about 2.5 hours later. I found a piece of paper left next to my PC. The contents of this paper included my admin username, admin password and 2other username accounts on my PC. The note was in the technicians handwriting. The PC security log files show my PC was rebooted a couple times while I was gone. He denied getting on my PC, but I have this note with his handwriting. What should I do? Can I sue him or company?
Step 1 is to contact the police--what the tech did was a form of theft. You should report him to the police immediately.
Step 2, protect yourself from ongoing harm--change all passwords or account information that the tech may have had access to (e.g do you keep banking related records online? Or had hardcopy of credit card statements nearby that he may have also accessed?)
Step 3, report this to the company and let them know that once you ascertain the damage (i.e. anything stolen) and any costs you have to incur to set things right, you will submit a claim for those damages and costs--and that if they don't pay you, you will sue.
In answer to your question, you may sue the tech (who commited the criminal act) and the company (which employed him on the errand that sent him to your home; he was their agent).
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