It is no secret that the Internet is now a big part of everyday life. The connectivity provides many users information about any conceivable topic. However, for how useful it is as a tool, the Internet is also an open platform for scammers to steal personal information or swindle users out of their money.
Unfortunately, the less tech and Internet savvy users in the Nicola Valley have been falling into traps laid out by scammers. A local computer tech service here in the Nicola Valley said that the recent rate of calls he has been receiving to deal with scamming cases have dramatically increased.
The Herald spoke with Michael Hall of Mike-Rochips Computers to discuss the rise of Internet scams in Merritt, what could be potential consequences and what to do when faced with malware ads and other sorts of Internet scams.
“Hackers get into the webpages and they will divert a hyperlink, which means when people after click on a link, intending to visit a specific page, they are instead taken to a webpage, set up by the hackers,” he explained.
“Let’s say you’re looking for a recipe webpage and you see one for chocolate chip cookies. When you click on that link, it would take you to a different page. The hackers have added a hidden link to that cookie link to make you go somewhere else.”
“Now a page will come up saying you have driver problems, malware, or viruses on your computer. Scammers can have this set up so the pop-up windows completely…