Autistic Boy Commits Suicide after Virus Accuses Him of Illicit Online Activity

The tragedy began when Joseph Edwards received a fake police email, claiming – wrongly -- that he had been looking at illegal websites and would have to pay a large sum of money to avoid officers taking action. The letterhead of the bogus message displayed a Cheshire Police insignia.

The 17-year-old clicked on the message. A virus then downloaded on his computer, freezing the laptop.

“Fearing causing his mother and sister Georgia distress, the traumatised young boy, who was studying his A-levels at Windsor Boys' School, instead took his own life,” the Telegraph reports.

Joseph took the message seriously likely because of his illness. People with autism often do not understand sarcasm, lies or social cues and take things very literally.

His mother told a coroner: "He didn't seem to have any worries known to me. I don't think he really understood.

"He wouldn't have done anything to upset myself or his sister, not deliberately."

Detective Sergeant Peter Wall said the "elaborate" scam is believed to have originated abroad.