company sent out pornographic images!!

[robert2001]

I recently applied for jobs online in the PA area. Two days ago I received a response from one (fairly large) company via email. The message itself, from a recruiter, was very professional, stating that they had seen my resume and wanted to set up an interview. However, I noticed that a .pcx file was attached to the email. The message did not mention the file. Thinking it was related to the company or the position for which I had applied, I opened the file, which, to my shock, was a slide show containing hardcore and softcore pornographic images. I am uncertain as to how to deal with this. Was it a simple mistake, or something worse? Regardless, it was very offensive. I am wondering what the outcome of a lawsuit would be, or a settlement. How would the company be punished, and how much could I claim in damages? If anyone has any advice or information, please advise. Thank you.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I recently applied for jobs online in the PA area. Two days ago I received a response from one (fairly large) company via email. The message itself, from a recruiter, was very professional, stating that they had seen my resume and wanted to set up an interview. However, I noticed that a .pcx file was attached to the email. The message did not mention the file. Thinking it was related to the company or the position for which I had applied, I opened the file, which, to my shock, was a slide show containing hardcore and softcore pornographic images. I am uncertain as to how to deal with this. Was it a simple mistake, or something worse? Regardless, it was very offensive. I am wondering what the outcome of a lawsuit would be, or a settlement. How would the company be punished, and how much could I claim in damages? If anyone has any advice or information, please advise. Thank you.

My response:

My guess is that it's not the company's fault, it's yours.

You see, undoubtedly, your computer has contracted what's called a "Trojan Horse" (a form of computer virus), that causes unwanted attachments to be made to your e-mail.

If you haven't already done so, I would suggest that you obtain an Anti-Virus program ("Norton Anti-Virus" is pretty good) and scrub your computer.

I'll bet you dollars to dimes that that is the problem.

Norton AntiVirus provides an additional layer of protection beyond
Auto-Protect's background scan by intercepting and scanning e-mail
attachments for viruses as they are retrieved.

With E-mail Protection enabled, Norton AntiVirus creates a proxy
server that intercepts and scans your e-mail for viruses before they
reach your e-mail program. Without E-mail Protection enabled, your
e-mail client connects directly to your ISP's mail server and
downloads the mail. Your system may still be secure this way, but it's
always best to be safe.

Norton AntiVirus recognizes and configures protection for Microsoft
Outlook Express 4.0/5.X, Microsoft Outlook 97/98/2000, Netscape
Messenger 4.x, Eudora Light 3.0, Eudora Pro 4.0, Pegasus Mail 3.0,
Becky Internet Mail 1.26, and AL-Mail32 1.11. Most POP3 e-mail
clients, including many shareware clients, require manual
configuration. Norton AntiVirus doesn't support AOL or Web-based
e-mail clients like Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail.

The procedure to configure an e-mail client manually for protection
requires changes in Norton AntiVirus and in the e-mail client, the
latter varying with the client.

If your e-mail client program is not listed in the E-mail Protection
list in the Norton AntiVirus window, click Options in the SystemWorks
main toolbar and select Norton Antivirus. Under the Internet heading,
select E-mail Protection, Advanced. Check Enable Manual Configuration.
Click OK to save your settings and exit the Options dialog box.

IAAL

[Edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE on 02-07-2001 at 01:27 PM]

 

[JETX]

In addition to IAAL's response, I offer the following:

1) Do NOT confront your 'potential' employer with your allegations. Bringing this up would either make you look foolish in making your claim, or would certainly undermine your interview.

2) If the file was attached to his email, it may very well have been an error or virus. If you insist on letting them know, you might send an 'anonymous' email (register a 'bogus' account at hotmail or excite or yahoo that DOESN'T show your name).

3) If you got it, and reviewed it, you are probably infected with the same virus... can you imagine your friends getting the same file from you???? I STRONGLY suggest that you use (or get) an anti-virus program. In fact Computer Associates offers a real good one for free (FREE!). Just click on:
http://antivirus.cai.com/