PADUCAH — This isn't your average virus, which is one reason a lot of anti-virus software wont catch it, and once it starts most people can't seem to stop it.

It's actually malware, controlled by what computer techs call a "cyber mob," it's sets up shop inside of your machine, and steals your most important information.

Even the safest surfers can be subjected to this sick scheme. One minute you're minding your own business, the next you get a message that your computer is infected, and if you don't pay $59.99 for what's supposed to be Microsoft anti-virus, your computer stops working. But as one local couple found out, paying that fee doesn't fix anything, in fact it makes matters worse.

"It had gone around before, apparently this is coming around again," Lita Buie says.

She says a serious sickness has struck her home.

"There was a trojan virus and some kind of warrior virus," Buie says.

Viruses are making their way through the one machine holding her most important information.

So to save her PC, she and her husband bought what they thought was an official Microsoft virus blocker, they got something entirely different instead.

"It just doesn't work what it does is completely loads your PC with viruses. You cant even connect to internet, you can't get back to that website there's nothing you can do,"Buie says.

She called the company claiming to be Microsoft, the man who answered offered to help and Lita took pages and pages of notes but the numbers aren't any help.

She was told if she really wanted help, she'd have to pay 130 dollars more.

"I call it a ripoff, that's what I call it," she says.

So we called Willie Kerns of SmartPath Technologies.

After taking a closer look, Kerns says this is the handiwork of internet mobsters.

"They use scare tactics to get you to pay money," Kerns says.

They've taken control of her computer, sending out spam and searching for what should be secret information like credit card numbers and passwords.

After two hours of removing the infected files line by line, Kerns had the machine back up and running. Lita and her husband couldn't be happier and say this is a lesson learned.

So what is that lesson? Kerns says if you get that message from the phony company, don't pay the 60 bucks and for novice computer users like myself, if your PC gets a virus, take it to a professional.

Kerns says removing the malware usually costs anywhere from 80 to 150 bucks.

Kerns says after your computer gets infected it's extremely important to notify your bank, cancel credit cards used on-line, and change your account numbers and passwords...he says the scammers probably intended on taking even more money from the Buie's credit card.