“Some are strictly looking to get into your banking and get credit card information off of your web browser. While pretending to be technical support, they give you a link and you download the software which installs things that you don’t even know is there.”Īccording to Hall scammers aim to take money from unsuspecting users in a variety of ways.

They do this by asking you to download a modified version of the program Ultraviewer. “It’s a scare tactic to get you to phone them and give them remote access into your computer. What they are really trying to do is to get access to data on your computer,” said Hall. “The page might also ask you to call Windows support or Microsoft support to help you fix this but it gives you the scammers’ contact. Hall explained that in panic of the situation brought on by the diverted link, people often times will call the number that would usually be located on the pop-up windows. Scammers can have this set up so the pop-up windows completely fills the screen and you are unable to see your taskbar or anything else so you can’t close it.” “Now a page will come up saying you have driver problems, malware, or viruses on your computer. The hackers have added a hidden link to that cookie link to make you go somewhere else.” When you click on that link, it would take you to a different page. “Let’s say you’re looking for a recipe webpage and you see one for chocolate chip cookies. “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. 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. 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. Unfortunately, the less tech and Internet savvy users in the Nicola Valley have been falling into traps laid out by scammers. 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. The connectivity provides many users information about any conceivable topic. It is no secret that the Internet is now a big part of everyday life.

Ultraviewer scams