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August 05, 2006
Click Fraud Threatens Web
The Federal Trade Commission believes that no place is more fraud-friendly than the web. The agency estimates that more than one in 10 Americans (perhaps as many as 30 million people in this country) have fallen victim to fraud. Last year, internet-related fraud complaints surpassed all others, comprising 55 percent of all digital malfeasance, and for the first time the net supplanted the telephone as the most popular initial point of contact for dupers to meet dupees.
An almost endless array of clever schemes exists to separate consumers from their money. There are cross-border scams that consist of fake foreign lotteries, phony prize promotions, advance-fee loan cons and the infamous Nigerian scam. Charity scams take advantage of consumers' generosity while so-called home-opportunity scams zero in on people looking for an easy way to make a few extra bucks. Identity thieves "phish" for personal information, like account numbers and PINs, which they use to sink your good credit (while sucking every penny out of your bank account). Pop-up spammers rely on nefarious methods to secretly wrest control of your PC desktop so they can pummel you with ads. Auction fraud accounts for half of the complaints the agency receives.
Posted by dj at 11:42 PM | Comments (0)
How Click Fraud could swallow the Internet
Stuart Cauff launched a charter-jet service in Miami Beach back in 2002. Being a 21st-century business, JetNetwork advertised on the Internet, especially on search engines. Anyone who Googled, say, "air charter Miami" would be greeted with the familiar list of search results and, in a separate place, a plain box of text with a blue hyperlink to JetNetwork's Web site.
Posted by dj at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)
Exposing Click Fraud
Internet marketers facing higher advertising fees on search networks are becoming increasingly concerned about a form of online fraud that was thought to have been contained years ago.
The practice, known as "click fraud," began in the early days of the Internet's mainstream popularity with programs that automatically surfed Web sites to increase traffic figures. This led companies to develop policing technologies touted as antidotes to the problem. But some marketing executives estimate that up to 20 percent of fees in certain advertising categories continue to be based on nonexistent consumers in today's search industry.
Posted by dj at 11:38 PM | Comments (0)
