- Joined
- Nov 26, 2004
- Messages
- 1,386
- Reaction score
- 14
Ben Edelman (a Ph.D candidate in economics at Harvard and Harvard Law School graduate who has done extensive research on Internet commerce issues) said on his site April 4 that he has documented multiple instances of spyware generating fraudulent clicks on Yahoo! ads to produce revenue for the spyware companies involved in the scheme. Click fraud is widely believed to be the single biggest threat to the PPC industry that so many domain owners rely on for revenue. If advertisers feel they are being ripped off by click fraud they may reduce spending on the web and that would obviously be bad news for everyone in this business. If Edelman's research is accurate (and he has an excellent track record), we are hopeful that the light he has shed on this practice will lead to quick and appropriate punishment for the thieves involved.