Advertising fraud on trusted internet platforms like Google is on the rise again, according to a new report from Malwarebytes.
In a blog post, Jérôme Segura, the company’s Senior Threat researcher explains how criminals abuse legitimate advertising services to get malicious links in front of unsuspecting victims. .
As it turns out, criminals are able to buy ad space in Google Ads, for example, which ensures that their ad appears at the top of Google’s Search Engine Results Pages (SERP).
Fake ads
Scammers will then create a fake ad for a popular company with millions of monthly searches, like Amazon, for example.
Since people usually click on any link that appears at the top of the SERPs, the researcher said, having a malicious link that appears there is very dangerous.
These ads, pretending to be big brands, are created in a way that avoids Google’s filtering mechanisms and can even display legitimate links. In a screenshot showing an example, the legitimate Amazon link is clearly visible, even though that’s not the website the victim is visiting, when they click on the ad.
Victims who end up clicking on the ad are often shown a fake antivirus scan claiming that their computer has a virus and needs to be cleaned with the help of a professional. “Professionals” often trick the victim into downloading remote desktop solutions, which opens the doors for countless other malware. In other instances, victims will be shown a landing page that mimics the login prompt for popular services such as Amazon, Microsoft, or Google.
Dealing with the issue is not as straightforward, the researcher also said, describing malvertising as “a complex issue” that generates billions of daily ad impressions. However, the best way forward is for businesses to educate their employees and users about malvertising.
However, “we can’t blame them for clicking paid ads that are proven to be reliable,” he concluded.