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Malicious Ads in Search Results Are Driving New Generations of Scams


The scourge of “malvertising” is nothing new, but the tactic is still so effective that it's contributing to the rise of investment scams and the spread of new strains of malware.

But as online crime evolves and malicious trends like “pig butchering” investment scams and infostealing malware proliferate, researchers say that so-called “malvertising” is still a key technique for scammers—and still a growing problem. But as with many components of the digital crime ecosystem, malvertising is often offered as a service where cybercriminals from around the world can purchase ads that distribute their malware or lead potential victims to a malicious website of their choosing. “We expressly prohibit ads that attempt to circumvent our enforcement by disguising the advertiser’s identity to deceive users and distribute malware," Google spokesperson Nate Funkhouser told WIRED in a statement.

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