The other day, a patron was navigating a news website on one of our public computers when he clicked on an article with an enticing title. Suddenly the screen turned blue, with a Windows error message, and a pop-up that practically screamed that the computer had been compromised, urging the patron to call a certain phone number to have the problem corrected.
Instead, he came to get me, and upon investigating, it quickly became a teachable moment.
You see, there was no problem with the computer at all. What's more, the article he had clicked was not affiliate with the news website at all! There in the lower corner of the link was the word "Ad", indicating that the link connected to an outside website of unknown origin. When our patron navigated to that page, it showed a false error message that took up the whole screen, and gave a false phone number that no doubt would have connected him to someone who likely would have asked for money or personal information to correct a non-existent problem.
All it took for me to fix it for real, however, was just taking the web browser out of full-screen mode and closing the internet tab. It was just a webpage that was cleverly designed to trick people into thinking their computers needed repair, and conveniently offer a "service" to fix them! How rotten is that?
These sorts of links can be found in many, many places on the Internet. From fake ads disguised as news articles to links from either unfamiliar persons or even sent from someone you know - I've had very good friends get their Facebook, Twitter, email address and other services taken over by unsavory parties, which were then used to push scam links and advertisements to everyone they could under the guise of someone I knew. Then, those ads either show a fake error message that demands action, ask for personal information or credit card information for a special offer or prize (both fake, I'm afraid), or can even download viruses and malware that hurt your device's performance or scan it for your private info.
A terrifying prospect!
So, how do we keep ourselves safe from Internet tricks and scams?
Firstly, never click a link without looking at it closely. If the word "ad" is anywhere on it, that means it will likely take you to a different website than the one you're on now. You can also place your cursor (aka the arrow) over the link and often there will be a small pop-up near the bottom of your screen that will say what the website is the link leads to - if it's different from what you're expecting, don't click!
Secondly, never open a link in an email unless it is from someone you know and trust, and that it is the sort of thing that the person you know would want to send you. If you're in doubt, I'm sure your friends and family will be happy to tell you what the link is in the message they've sent you, or at least verify that it is, in fact, from them!
Finally, never EVER give your personal or financial information to someone unless you are absolutely certain that they are who they say they are. You can often find details that will give this sort of thing away, as well. Most services will never ask for things like credit card numbers or even private passwords through an email, for example. And if you're in doubt, you can always look up the official contact information for a company and make sure it matches what's in front of you.
It is important to be vigilant when we are browsing the web, but as long as you are mindful and look before you leap (or click!), it's easy to keep yourself and your computer or other devices safe.
And if you are ever in doubt if something online is real or fake, you can always give us a phone call at (517) 647-6981, or even come into the library to show us the link or email in question, and we will gladly help you determine if it's safe to click or not.
Happy browsing!