Some even use ‘ad cloaking’, showing a legitimate, benign version of their adverts to advertising platforms and a different, non-compliant, version to genuine users.
You might see a prompt urging you to 'Click to Continue' or 'Download' a file, but it's actually a disguised advert designed to blend in seamlessly with a website’s normal content.
Here, we expose how a hidden banner left one BBC user trapped in a monthly subscription to an obscure 'tech education' e-book business.
Hidden subscription trap on BBC website
While holidaying in France, Robin was viewing the BBC News website and spotted what he assumed was a routine security check. In reality, we think it was a cleverly masked subscription trap.
Unlike its bbc.co.uk counterpart, BBC Studios does host adverts internationally on bbc.com, one of which he mistook for a genuine request to verify his online account.
'Verify and Continue'After sharing card details, he found he’d subscribed to a service called ‘MyTechTeach’, costing €29.90 a month with only 24 hours to cancel.
Robin tried to call the customer services helpline to unsubscribe, but ‘no agent was available’. He called his bank and was transferred to the fraud team, who said his card would need to be cancelled to stop the payments.
Web of confusion
The advert Robin clicked on led to a website called themindcraftly.com, promoted by a Google Ads advertiser called Zodiac Technologies DMCC, based in Dubai.
It changes its branding, contact details and pricing regularly – in the space of only a week, we found it advertised subscriptions to a dizzying number of companies, including TheFoodBliss, MarketSavvy, LearnWarriors, eTechVista and MarketNow24.
We contacted each of the various email addresses listed, as well as Zodiac Technologies. We only received a reply from support@thefoodbliss.com, which initially said the advert and themindcraftly.com ‘do not appear to be related to our service’.
When we asked it explicitly if themindcraftly.com is a partner or used its name and logo without consent, it didn’t give a clear answer and said: ‘We do not disclose the specific terms or details of our commercial agreements.’
The BBC told Which? the ad will no longer be running on bbc.com because it does not align with its guidelines.
Tip:Fixing fraudulent advertising
Fraudulent advertising is a growing problem that must be tackled. Which? has repeatedly warned about the lack of regulation that is allowing malicious advertisers to target people with ease.
The ad ecosystem is a complex web of automated platforms, algorithms and countless advertising agencies. The only regulatory body operating in this space is the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which monitors ads and responds to complaints, but has no legal power to take action.
Regulation for some fraudulent adverts will be captured by the Online Safety Act, which became law in 2024. The Act gives the telecoms regulator, Ofcom, the authority to fine the largest online services (including major search engines and social media platforms) if they're found to be hosting fraudulent paid-for adverts on their platforms.
Which? campaigned hard for the Act to include scam adverts and continues to push for the implementation of these rules to be brought forward. Currently, the rules won’t be enforced until late 2027.
But the Act doesn’t cover all types of adverts, including dodgy ads found lurking on trusted websites such as bbc.com. Which? wants to see the government propose effective regulation for the open display advertising market to close gaps exploited by fraudsters.
Find out more:source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/how-a-camouflaged-advert-led-to-a-monthly-subscription-trap-azYjg2c0yUJR