Slashdot Mirror
Google's Fraud Squad Battles Phantom Clicks
An anonymous reader writes "It's an open secret that low cost workers in India, China and other countries are hired to boost traffic for online ads by clicking on text links, banners etc. Internet marketers facing high advertising fees on search networks like Google are becoming increasingly concerned about this form of online fraud. This problem has reached a critical stage and even Google recognizes that it has been the target of individuals and entities "using some of the most advanced spam techniques for years". A Google spokesperson said the company has "applied what we have learned with search to the click fraud problem and employed a dedicated team and proprietary technology to analyse clicks.""
Here's the Google cache: google.
...they were hinted that something fishy was going on the moment someone purportedly clicked on a banner ad.
"Hey, someone just punched the monkey!"
"Foul play!"
"Call the Feds!"
click ! click ! [...] click !