Consumer Watchdogs Catch 'Peek Squad' In The Act

Apparently, you can catch more geeks with horny than you can with vinegar. That's what the consumer advocates at The Consumerist say they discovered when they took a computer loaded with pornography to a Best Buy and asked a Geek Squad technician to install iTunes on the box.

It's a scenario -- poorly hidden porn files, simple software installation -- that probably plays out dozens of times a day at Geek Squad locations across the country. The difference this time was that The Consumerist investigators rigged their computer to create a video file of on-screen activity while in the care of the Geek Squad. And, lo and behold, that video shows what The Consumerist says is an unnamed Geek Squad technician search the hard drive for porn files, laser in on a large and invitingly named folder containing said smut, then copy the goodies onto his thumb drive.

With the sordid deed consummated, the Geek Squad agent does a quick clean up of the desktop, stuffing the naughty files back under the virtual mattress from whence they came, The Consumerist asserts.

Best Buy could take a serious public relations hit over the episode, said Mark Scott, CEO of The Utility Company, an IT services franchisor operating in some of the same markets as the Geek Squad.

"Obviously, if you're Best Buy you have to definitely make sure that the internal controls are in place after an incident like this. It's pretty disconcerting for the consumer, for sure," Scott said.

The Consumerist declined to name the Geek Squad agent caught in their self-described "sting operation." In an e-mail exchange posted by the watchdog group on its Web site, Consumerist editor Ben Popken lectures Geek Squad CEO Robert Stephens: "The main thrust of our story is that this is a systemic problem. We think it's just luck of the draw that this agent got caught rather than another. It's an issue that needs to be addressed broadly in your organization, and across the computer repair industry as a whole."

Still, The Consumerist admits that it took its baited box to "around a dozen" Best Buy Geek Squad locations where the software installation took place without incident before catching one agent stealing porn. And some commenters on The Consumerist Web site complained that the set-up itself was too tempting -- featuring a screen background with three partying blonde cuties and an easily located folder tagged "out clubbin!!!" that contained pornography.

Indeed, short of sending Joe Francis in to coach the Geek Squad tech on ethics, it's difficult to imagine the "honeypot" being any sweeter.

But most commenters stressed that stealing by technicians who are entrusted with people's computers is a serious offense, regardless of how it happens. Stephens, in his correspondence with The Consumerist, said the incident was "grounds for termination for the Agent involved." For its part, The Consumerist says it launched the operation in response to complaints from readers about the Geek Squad, rather than setting up a "gotcha" moment for no good reason.

Meanwhile, other computer repair technicians who think the furor over this incident is limited to the Geek Sqaud might be in for a surprise. The Consumerist also posted a "how-to" for readers who want to set up video surveillance on their own computers to catch thieves in the act.

"Our hope is that anyone concerned about their security would be able to do this sort of operation," Consumerist editor Popken told CRN. "Maybe they could even create a legion of secret shoppers. Also it ought to create some awareness in the techie community, where they'll have second thoughts about stealing people's files, because they just might get caught."

Repeated calls and emails to Best Buy were not returned.