Google announces steps to ban scam ads
- Thread starter GSheehy
- Start date
"Meta’s lax approach has helped fuel the professionalization of social-media fraud by international criminal networks in Southeast Asia".
"The report estimated organized scamming operations—often called “pig butchering” groups—comprise hundreds of thousands of people, many trafficked after falling for fraudulent social-media employment ads. Kept in prisonlike compounds, the workers are forced to work under threat of extreme forms of torture and abuse.”
The FT have an article on the Irish government proposal today here (paywall) for a legal obligation for platforms to check if a financial advert is from a regulated firm.
"Brussels frets that the amendment would conflict with a provision in the EU’s Digital Services Act that online platforms are not required to conduct broad-based monitoring of content. Yet having to verify whether financial advertisers are authorised does not constitute large-scale monitoring, and would only be required of very large online platforms."
The FT are right. The proposal by the Irish government is not a broad-based monitoring of user generated content, but rather it is to ensure that platforms check advertisers, to ensure they are regulated, to stop scams. Hopefully the Irish government proposal gains traction.
"Brussels frets that the amendment would conflict with a provision in the EU’s Digital Services Act that online platforms are not required to conduct broad-based monitoring of content. Yet having to verify whether financial advertisers are authorised does not constitute large-scale monitoring, and would only be required of very large online platforms."
The FT are right. The proposal by the Irish government is not a broad-based monitoring of user generated content, but rather it is to ensure that platforms check advertisers, to ensure they are regulated, to stop scams. Hopefully the Irish government proposal gains traction.
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Just had a Google ad on my phone's carousel promote a scam bond investment site. Claiming to be protected by DGS, and with an impressive Trustpilot link that actually relates to an entirely different company.
Google's own AI Overview search results classify it as "a known scam site"
. Have reported it to Google using the mobile report option. Advertiser is unverified, we'll see.
Update: took a screenshot of the mobile ad and the advertiser details (under Google's mobile report option) and then looked up the advertiser profile on my desktop using Google's Ad Transparency tool.
Have now reported the original ad to the Central Bank, plus three similarly named advertiser profiles showing similar ads.
Google's own AI Overview search results classify it as "a known scam site"
. Have reported it to Google using the mobile report option. Advertiser is unverified, we'll see.Update: took a screenshot of the mobile ad and the advertiser details (under Google's mobile report option) and then looked up the advertiser profile on my desktop using Google's Ad Transparency tool.
Have now reported the original ad to the Central Bank, plus three similarly named advertiser profiles showing similar ads.
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Well done. Google seems to have far less scam deposit and investment adverts these days but the problem is still not fully solved despite Google committing to checking if all financial advertisers are regulated entities.
Meanwhile, X and Meta are flooded in scam financial adverts.
Meanwhile, X and Meta are flooded in scam financial adverts.
Brendan Burgess
Founder
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Hi Lightning and Mugsgame
Well done lads!
I have just Googled for the best deposit rates in Ireland, high deposit rates, deposit comparison sites
and all the ads are for genuine sites connected to Ireland. I even went down a few pages looking for a scam website and could not find them.
I am sure that they will crop up again from time to time, but it seems that the Central Bank link with Google is working and the ads get taken down quickly.
Brendan
Well done lads!
I have just Googled for the best deposit rates in Ireland, high deposit rates, deposit comparison sites
and all the ads are for genuine sites connected to Ireland. I even went down a few pages looking for a scam website and could not find them.
I am sure that they will crop up again from time to time, but it seems that the Central Bank link with Google is working and the ads get taken down quickly.
Brendan