Google is failing consumers by profiting from scam websites

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Interesting article. The number of scam websites is much higher than I thought and Google is virtually turning a blind eye so long as the advertising revenue comes in - up to £5 per click. Google performs no checks on the sites it promotes and leaves it to victimised customers to report scam sites to them. The article recommends not buying anything from websites with sponsored links, or you risk your credit/debit card being compromised and money stolen or shoddy counterfeit / dangerous goods arriving or no goods at all.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/consumer_affairs/article6980806.ece

The thing that surprised me was Google's lack of checking into the companies they show adverts for, instead leaving it up to victims to report scam sites to them. I think people (myself included) perhaps naively gave more credibility to the adverts than they deserved, wrongly assuming that Google had done at least some basic checks on who they were promoting and doing business with. I've never fallen foul of such a scam site myself because I tend to be very mistrusting of buying anything online anyway.

I tend to give more credibility to free (none-advertised) sites at the top of a search than sponsored links anyway.

As always buyer beware. However, as the article says there are a number of cloned websites that look indistinguishable from the real one - how does the average person tell the difference if the prices are not cut to an unbelievable level? The first people will know that they've been scammed is when their goods don't show up or their account has been drained.

Some good points, TallyMan.

must be why they're not going to censor in China any more...distract people.

that being said, there's billions of sites out there, and no one can check them all on a continuing basis (not even the Chinese government, though wouldn't they want to try...

As long as they clean out offenders as reported, that's about all they can do.

<oops extra post>

I ***HATE*** the word CONSUMER.

Hello I am Mr. Consumer.
That's B.S. Consumer.
I CONSUME BOVINE EXCREMENT!

Hey Mr. Consumer what kind of sheet can I feed you tonite?
HOW ABOUT SOME LONG PIG! GULP! YUMMY! :twisted evil:

The proper etiquette term I believe is CUSTOMER.

CONSUMERS ARE WHAT THEY EAT, TRASH, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT'S FOR SALE!
AND THEN YOU HAVE TO FLUSH IT.

Isn't that nasty, that they use words like that and rip you off?
I only told the story to explain what the words really mean.
They call you a consumer because you keep buying their rubbish and waste it.

Hmmm... I didn't know anyone actually clicked on those "Sponsored Results" links. Crap like that is why every computer should come with Web Of Trust installed into the internet browser. You just cannot trust any search engines, ever. Hell, even the first link that pops up in a search could contain trojans.

Can't say I'm surprised, Google is a company focused on pleasing shareholders like any other corporation of it's size.

People do click on the sponsored links though, especially in searches when a lot of people don't think of them as separate from the other results.