I was typing on my laptop, focused on achieving my writing goal for the day, when this alert took over my screen:
The notice had the official Windows logo. An audio warning eclipsed my Spotify playlist and told me to call the number on the screen as soon as possible. I examined the number. Everything else about this warning seemed legit, but that phone number, with the skeevy 620 area code, gave me pause.
What- you don’t know what skeevy means? Let the Word Nerd explain.
My eldest introduced me to skeevy last week. He was explaining how his employer switched to a new health care plan that requires employees to upload all kinds of personal data, including daily steps, sleep records, and exercise logs, to earn a discount on health insurance premiums.
He shook his head. “It’s skeevy, man. I feel like they can use that data to build some kind of profile on me.”
When I asked if skeevy was new slang among Gen Z, he assured me it was a real word and promptly looked it up. He was right. (This is also the child who introduced me, and therefore you, to scuffed.)
skee·vy [ˈskē-vē ] adjective; morally or physically repulsive : disgusting, sleazy
According to Merriam-Webster, “skeevy probably comes from skeeve “to disgust, be disgusted by” (borrowed from the stem of Italian schifare “to loathe, feel disgust for,” earlier “to shun, avoid,” borrowed from Old French eschiver) — more at eschew.”
Although skeevy is classified as slang, it’s first known use was in 1976. Way before Gen Z. It reminds me of another Word Nerd Word: smarmy.
So, getting back to that skeevy blue message on my laptop, before I touched any key and certainly before I dialed that number, I searched “Windows Defender pop up” on my phone. Turns out, this is a phishing scam that will introduce a virus to your computer if you call the number. I read this article on the scam, made sure my internet browser settings were returned to default, cleared my browser history, and ran a full (not quick) scan of my laptop. McAfee found a virus and fixed it.
Whew, those internet pirates are getting sophisticated. Do not be fooled! Trust your skeevy sensor!
What interesting word have you heard lately?
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
Great word !! And reminder that said oldest told me to run a virus scan that I never completed :/