Computer scams can be extremely detrimental to businesses and consumers alike. There are so many different ways criminals can tap into an individual's personal information, which can then be used to steal from their bank accounts, open new credit lines, ruin a reputation and numerous other issues.

Canadians need to be aware of these adverse effects, because the frequency of online scams is growing. Because so many of us use the Internet regularly, avoiding scams when surfing the web is exceedingly important.

Internet crimes on the rise
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website, online scams are on the rise. Romance tricks were identified as the most common scams in Canada in 2011, the source reported, as $12 million in damages were declared, while shopping and auction traps, reported at $8 million in losses, were found to be the second most common.

Innovation Village also reported that this is not a new trend. Between 2005 and 2009, Internet scam complaints rose by around 200,000 incidents. As of 2010, 2.4 percent of worldwide scams originated in Canada.

This is alarming news for many, if not most, Canadians. The Canadian Internet Registration Authority's Factbook 2013 revealed that 8 in 10 of us go online regularly. Canada is in the top quartile of countries where Internet connectivity is concerned. Moreover, the average citizen spends about 45 hours online every month.  This means that scams have the potential to affect millions of us.

What should ISPs do?
Internet service providers (ISPs) should keep an eye on trends regarding online scams, because it could affect their businesses as well. An infected device has the potential to become a conduit for the criminal to infect a network.

Administrators need to think about what they should be doing to prevent this. They could take a hard line and suspend service to those who have obviously been infected. However, there are some piracy programs that could potentially be undetected. Therefore, leaders might want to consider providing clients with the education and knowledge they need to avoid online criminals themselves. For instance, materials on safe downloads and app use, as well as phishing scams, might lead many people to avoid headaches - clients and ISPs themselves alike.