YPSILANTI, MI — While some customers visit Jafferson Computers in Ypsilanti to get a minor fix for their laptop, others are sharing how a random pop-up advertisement has cost them $36,000.
Mateen Jaffer, founder of Jafferson Computers, 4015 Carpenter Road, has been operating his business for 18 years. It provides in-store professional internet technology services and computer repairs.
But, while computer scams have always been around, Jaffer said he has noticed more customers being scammed out of money the past few years.
Some of the major scams involve scammers acting as well-known organizations such as the IRS, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple, demanding they purchase or repay money quickly through their computers. Other times a pop-up advertisement, acting as one of these companies, leads a person right into calling the scammer’s number.
Jaffer said he felt compelled to increase awareness of these cyberattacks by hosting free classes at local libraries to educate participants on how to detect and avoid scams.
The first class, 13 years ago, was at the Ann Arbor Public Library. Since then, he has volunteered at Ypsilanti District Library and Saline District Library.
“I just want to go out and just keep increasing the awareness to these problems that are happening,” Jaffer said. “I believe the more I talk, the more people discuss these situations and the easier it is for them to recognize when they find themselves in the situation either over text, call or over email.”
