Bad ads are not uncommon, and techical support scams are part of them.
Google as the leader in online advertising industry, wants to end this kind of ad by putting some strict measures, which would prevent those fraudsters from showing up on its ad platform.
The company has started what it calls "restricting" tech support ads worldwide.
Although this strategy won't guarantee anything, but chances are users won't have to see these kind of ad as often.
"One of our top priorities is to maintain a healthy advertising ecosystem, and that means protecting people from misleading, inappropriate and harmful ads," said David Graff, Google Director for Global Product Policy.
Tech support refers to services that provide help to users of products or services. In general, it addresses specific problems with a product or service rather than the provision, customization, training or other support services.
Most companies offer technical support for the services or products they sell, and people can contact their tech support staffs using phone, e-mail, live support software on a website, or other tool where users can log an incident.
But fake tech support scams people for information, or even money. They are not legitimate, and not part of the companies that sell the product/service.
Most of the time, tech support scam that shows on ads, direct people to the scammers' phone line or websites operated by them. As an example, fraudulent tech support ads, such as one that posed as an official Apple service, can trick iPhone users in giving up their Apple ID or other sensitive information.
These rip-off campaigns aren't new, but the findings and the increase of ads that offer these fake services have prompted Google to offer a stronger response.
The move is part of Google's strategy that had purged more than 3.2 billion ads in 2017.
During this time, when Google sees an increase in "misleading or predatory behaviors in specific categories," the company takes additional actions. For example, Google said that it has banned ads for payday loans and bail bonds services.
The company said that it has also developed advanced verification programs to fight fraud in areas like local locksmith services and addiction treatment centers.
As for fake third-party technical support providers, Google saw a rise in bad user experiencing stemming from this kind of ad.
"For many years, we’ve consulted and worked with law enforcement and government agencies to address abuse in this area. As the fraudulent activity takes place off our platform, it’s increasingly difficult to separate the bad actors from the legitimate providers."
Google also has plans to introduce a verification program to ensure that only legitimate providers of third-party tech support can use its platform to reach consumers.