Posts tagged as:

Fraud

Google Click Fraud-Advertisers Overpay

by certifiedbug on January 13, 2010

in Internet Security

Benjamin Edelman
January 12, 2010

I’ve repeatedly reported improper placements of Google ads. In most of my write-ups, the impropriety occurs in ad placement — Google PPC ads shown in spyware popups, in typosquatting sites or in improperly-installed and/or deceptive toolbars. This article is different: Here, the impropriety includes a fake click — click fraud — charging an advertiser for a PPC click, when in fact the user never actually clicked.

But this is no ordinary click fraud. Here, spyware on a user’s PC monitors the user’s browsing to determine the user’s likely purchase intent. Then the spyware fakes a click on a Google PPC ad promoting the exact merchant the user was already visiting. If the user proceeds to make a purchase — reasonably likely for a user already intentionally requesting the merchant’s site — the merchant will naturally credit Google for the sale. Furthermore, a standard ad optimization strategy will lead the merchant to increase its Google PPC bid for this keyword on the reasonable (albeit mistaken) view that Google is successfully finding new customers. But in fact Google and its partners are merely taking credit for customers the merchant had already reached by other methods.

In this piece, I show the details of the spyware that tracks user browsing and fakes Google PPC ad clicks, and I identify the numerous intermediaries that perpetrate these improper charges. I then criticize Google’s decision to continue placing ads through InfoSpace, the traffic broker that connected Google to this click fraud chain. I consider this practice in light of Google’s advice to advertisers and favored arguments that click fraud problems are small and manageable. Finally, I propose specific actions Google should take to satisfy to prevent these scams and to satisfy Google’s obligations to advertisers.

Article here

http://certifiedbug.com/blog/tag/edelman/

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FTC Lodges Contempt Charge Against BlueHippo

by certifiedbug on November 13, 2009

in News

Press Release

The Federal Trade Commission has asked a federal court to issue a contempt order against BlueHippo, a company that collected more than $15 million from consumers based on claims that it would finance their purchases of new computers, but delivered neither the financing nor the financed computers, in violation of a 2008 court order. The FTC alleged that less than one percent of consumers who signed up with BlueHippo received the financed computers they applied for, and undisclosed conditions to redeem “store credits” were rigged to discourage consumers from using them.

In a contempt motion lodged with the court today, the FTC charged that BlueHippo has flouted a settlement reached with the agency last year, continuing to deceive thousands of financially strapped consumers with phony promises that it would help them purchase a computer even if they have credit problems. The FTC also is asking the court to order BlueHippo to compensate injured consumers and bar BlueHippo from similar conduct in the future.

“Years of broken promises by BlueHippo have left consumers seeing red,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “We’re putting companies like this on notice: If you mistreat consumers and thumb your nose at the courts, we will hold you accountable.”

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/11/bluehippo.shtm#content

http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0523092/091112bluehippomemo.PDF

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Microsoft files lawsuit on massive Click Fraud scheme

June 18, 2009

Microsoft filed a civil lawsuit on Monday at the U.S. District Court,Western District of Washington, at Seattle. Microsoft v. Lam, et. al., case number 09-cv-0815. MS is asking the court for at least US $750,000 in damages.
The complaint (PDF)
Microsoft On The Issues
Using Enforcement to Crack Down on ‘Click Fraud’

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FTC- AnnualCreditReport.com only authorized source

March 20, 2009

FTC Releases Spoof Videos with a Serious Message

Despite the musical claims of some TV commercials, the only authorized source to get your free annual credit report under federal law is AnnualCreditReport.com. To reinforce this message, the Federal Trade Commission is featuring two new videos with their own catchy tunes. Both videos are available at [...]

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Did retail fraud rates drop when McColo’s lights went out

December 15, 2008

Brian Krebs at The Washington Post reports.
Retail Fraud Rates Plummeted the Night McColo Went Offline
Ori Eisen, founder of 41st Parameter, a company providing anti-fraud consulting to a number of big retailers and banks, informed Krebs that at least two of the largest retailers his company serves saw massive declines in fraud rates directly following [...]

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