Modem Hijacking: Don't Let Your Family Become A Victim

Modem Hijacking or Internet Dumping is a Serious Problem that Can Cost You Serious Money and Provide Your Children with Access to Adult Websites.

Imagine opening your next phone bill, only to find a long distance charge totaling $400 or even more. You have no idea where these charges have come from and what’s worse, your telephone company insists that you made the calls and you must pay. You are likely the victim of modem hijacking.

This is a reality for many people across the globe. Modem Hijacking (otherwise known as Internet Dumping or Dialer Hijacking) has become an epidemic problem for Internet users.

What is Modem Hijacking?

Modem hijacking is not a new problem, but it still can affect people using a dial up modem.

You could be surfing around the Internet and without realizing it, have malicious software downloaded to your computer.

This software disconnects you from your usual dial-up Internet connection and reconnects you on another, expensive phone line. Even when your computer sits idle for long periods of time, this dialer may still be hooking you up to 1900 numbers and sending the charges to your phone bill.

Who Can Become a Victim?

Virtually any household using a dial up connection can become a victim to of modem hijacking.
Curious teenagers can fall for the Internet dumping scam very easily when they want to enter an adult site. The unscrupulous web site offers their visitors a way to enter the site without entering a credit card. All it takes is a click of the mouse. Once that click has been made, the dialer software has been downloaded and your children can access the website.

Can’t I Just Increase My Internet Security Settings to Avoid Modem Hijacking?

Dialers are often downloaded onto systems using Internet Explorer through an ActiveX script. In Internet Explorer, you can set your Internet security settings to "medium" and your computer will never download any ActiveX Controls without your permission. This is the setting recommended by Microsoft for surfing the Internet.
Just go to Tools -> Internet Options -> Security -> Choose Medium at the Bottom

But it may not be enough…not all dialers are downloaded through ActiveX scripts. They can be .exe files or straight compiled code and not a script or control of any kind.
And you don’t have to be at an adult site for this to happen to you.

Michelle Bailey of Spanishburg, West Virginia, USA found herself with an extra large phone bill after searching the web for downloadable ring tones for her husband's mobile phone, "I got to this site where it said you could download them, but there were TONS of pop-ups that kept getting in my way.

"I clicked the ‘x’ repeatedly to close them out. They were all over the screen. Well, one of them just happened to be strategically placed directly behind another in such a way that by accidentally hitting the ‘x’ button twice, I ended up hitting an ‘Okay’ button behind it. Then a download box showed up. I was confused, but not really surprised, as these things can happen for a number of reasons. I immediately ‘x’d out of that download before it even got off to a good start, and never thought of it again…until I got the bill."

A surefire way to protect yourself

There is a unique software program, made in Australia, called StopITNow! that will protect you from modem hijacking. This program stops Internet dialers from ever accessing your dial-up modem connection.