Malicious adverts are usually created by unverified advertisers, but now there is evidence of scammers abusing Google’s platform as verified advertisers.
Read on to find out what these fake ads look like.
Scam advertiser passes Google's checks
When you come across a verified advert, you can click the three dots (known as an ellipsis) to learn about the advertiser behind it. This information is aimed at reassuring the public that they're dealing with a company they can trust.
Scammers have been able to convince Google that they are legitimate, leaving the door open for them to publish persuasive ads appearing at the top of search listings.
What did the fake ads look like?
Over the course of three days in late January, this verified advertiser was paying Google to appear at the top of results when the public searched for phone network Lyca Mobile.
You would have had little reason to suspect these adverts at first glance.
They appeared to link to the genuine web address for Lyca Mobile (lycamobile.co.uk), although the keenest-eyed may have questioned the use of ‘Lyc Mob’ in the blurb.
Although Vodafone and Lyca Mobile are two separate companies, if you had checked the details of this advertiser, you may have been reassured that it was created by what appeared to be a genuine mobile network.
Vodafone and Lyca Mobile respond
We contacted Vodafone and Lyca Mobile.
A spokesperson for Vodafone told Which?: ‘Criminals are always looking for new ways to trick companies and consumers, and our ecommerce security teams work hard to stay ahead of them. We take fraud extremely seriously and have reported the issue to Google for immediate resolution and to stop this happening again. We also want to clarify that Vodafone UK has no affiliation with Lyca Mobile.’
A spokesperson for Lyca Mobile said: 'Unfortunately, this type of scam is all too common. We regularly get website impersonations of our brand closed down, and in this case the scam site in question was taken offline almost as quickly as it appeared. But we also have to rely on the platforms we operate on to prevent them occurring in the first place. We welcome moves by Google and others to crack down on this type of activity to protect both consumers and brands from malicious actors.'
Read more:How did a scammer pass Google's checks?
It states that advertisers may be asked to provide documentation in order to become verified, yet appears only to confirm that the company details are legitimate, not that the advertiser has a relationship with that company.
With company details easily found online by opportunistic scammers, we’re concerned that Google’s vetting process could put both consumers and businesses at risk.
Google didn't confirm to Which? the steps it took to verify this particular advertiser, but a spokesperson told us: 'Protecting users is our top priority and we have strict ads policies that govern the types of ads and advertisers we allow on our platforms. We enforce our policies vigorously, and if we find ads that are in violation we remove them. We continue to invest significant resources to stop bad actors and we are constantly evaluating and updating our policies and improving our technology to keep our users safe.'
Find out more:source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/scammer-bypasses-google-search-as-verified-advertiser-alCjw4y3pz7b