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For the past decade or so, Google has held about 85% of the global search market. In second place is Bing, with just about 9%. If you’re like most people, you don’t go very deep in search results, clicking on one of the first links to find what you want. Although Google does its best to only show ads from reliable businesses, scammers are using search ads on Google to disguise malicious links. Here’s what to know.
Not all sponsored ads are what they seem
When you pull up search results, you may see sponsored advertisements at the top of the page. These ads are paid for to promote certain keywords. The ad displays a URL to the website that is supposed to link to the company’s webpage. And usually, it does. But scammers can also set up ads for specific keywords that redirect the user to a malicious website, which can trigger an attack on the user’s computer to either steal confidential information or perform fraudulent activity.
Malicious advertisements can also lead to websites that sell counterfeit products. These types of ads are completely against Google’s policies and rules, but scammers still try to publish them. Google shuts down these ads as soon as they can, but due to the sheer volume of ads, it can often take 24 hours or more to get the ad taken down. It would also be cost-prohibitive and time-consuming to test each ad before posting.
How does malvertising impact brands?
This phenomena, aka malvertisements, damages the real brand’s reputation. It can cause traffic (and revenue) on the real site to decline. In some cases, the real brand may even have some legal liability. When customers complain, they’ll be going to the real brand, which strains a company’s resources to deal with negative comments and bad reviews. Fake ads also increase the competition on Google for keywords, increasing the bottom line for advertising while also decreasing the number of consumers who visit your real website.
How to identify malvertising
Today’s scammers are getting more sophisticated. Users should be aware of malvertisements and watch for subtle signs that an ad may not be real.
- Fake ads may not look professionally designed.
- Fake ads may have spelling or grammatical errors.
- The target URL may not be the brand name or it may be really long and just look suspicious.
- The URL may not even match your search history.
- If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Avoiding malvertising as a user
Protecting yourself against scammers is a multilayered process. Keep your software updated with the latest security patches, which can help identify malware and malvertising. Use security tools, like an ad-blocker, recommended by the FBI, and antivirus software. Finally, don’t click on ads or pop-ups. Scroll down and look through the organic search results to find the website. If you do come across a potentially scammy ad, click on the three dots in the search engine listing to send feedback to Google. If you do click on a link in an ad, check the URL and website once you get there to make sure you are at the right destination.Â
How publishers and brands can avoid malvertisements
Brands can take a different tack. There is software that can identify fake ads, which can help your brand stay on top of scammers. Report any ads to Google using this link. Your brand can also educate consumers. Only use ad networks with a good reputation. Ask potential ad networks about their security measures for preventing malicious ads.
Is malvertising a real problem?
According to one report, in 2022, Google blocked/removed 1.36 billion ads that abused the terms of service. Statisa reports that almost 20% of ad impressions online are fraudulent. It can be difficult to estimate the monetary value of the crimes associated with malvertising, because so many victims do not report the problem, citing that the money loss wasn’t that much or that it’s too much work. Many crime victims do not want to be identified. Yet, the problem is so big that the FBI has a dedicated site to cybercrimes. Victims of internet crimes can report crimes to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
Stay alert when you’re online. Report scammy ads to protect cyberspace. Hackers have been a problem since the early days of the internet and they’re not going anywhere. Stay vigilant to maintain your online security and data. Minimize your risk by knowing fraudulent trends and only using organic search results to click on, not ads.
