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90% Of Google Ads For Investment Queries Direct To Scam Websites

23/02/2020

In terms of online advertisements, Google owns the sphere by a large margin. With that power on the market, Google has long been abused.

Campaigner Mark Taber that is also a researcher and media contributor said that 90% of ads Google shows when users search for common investments lead to scam websites. Taber has flagged 126 Google ads for investment scams with both Google and the UK‘s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over the past six weeks alone.

Google is able to get away with most of the cases because Google is a platform, not a publisher. What this means, the company is not liable for the content of the ads displayed to users.

Google does not vet ads before they go live, leaving consumers exposed to the risk that they may been targeted by scam firms that want to dry their savings.

And because Google’s advertisement platform allows anyone to open an account and submit bids to place their ads at the top of search results for certain keywords, Taber urged the public to avoid looking for investment on Google, as they have a high chance of falling as victim to fraud.

"Don’t look for investments on Google,” said Taber.

People who are looking for investment ideas, can go the web and seek information. As Google literally owns the search engine market, there is no doubt that those people would likely use Google.

Basic investments like bonds and individual savings accounts where people can store assets like stocks in banks, have become some of the terms targeted by the fraudsters. These fraudsters are taking advantage of Google’s lax controls to promote investments claiming to offer annual returns of up to 29%.

Many of the scam sites even make dubious claims such as 'zero risk' with high returns, but have no contact details other than an online form, which is a breach of Google’s rules requiring advertisers to provide a physical address.

These fraudsters simply pay Google to have their sites appear on top of its search engine results page, above legitimate ones.

Google does however remove fraudulent sites when it sees them. Unfortunately, fraudsters are keeping track, as they can own several domains. What this means, although most of the scam sites are taken down, several more scam sites appear almost instantly with only a minor change in the URL.

Investment scams are estimated to have cost consumers at least £1 billion in 2019 alone, with many of the victims were targeted after clicking on a Google ad and filling in an online form.

With the fraudsters have little to nothing to lose, other than paying Google to show their ads on top of its search results, consumers are the most affected. It's estimated that Google earned some tens of millions of dollars every year by accepting ads from unregulated and fraudulent investment schemes.

The FCA maintains a list of scam websites in order to help the public in avoiding them altogether.

Many other financial regulatory bodies around the world also have their own list. But the number of fraudulent firms advertising on Google reportedly far exceeds what’s on their list.

This makes the cat-and-mouse game difficult to end.

A Google spokesperson said:

"UK consumers often look online for help with financial decisions but there are businesses who purposely set out to mislead consumers. Protecting consumers and the credible businesses operating in this area is a priority for us, which merits careful rules and enforcement."

"We are also working with the FCA and other independent experts on a scalable and long-term solution for us to ensure that consumers are protected."

A government spokesperson said:

"We want to protect people from misleading investment schemes and have given the FCA strong powers to ensure these products are regulated effectively."

"While advertising restrictions in the UK are among the toughest in the world, we are not complacent. We continue to review how online advertising is regulated in the UK to assess its economic and social impact."