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Comments
Russian Hackers Run Record-Breaking Online Ad-Fraud Operation
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LisaB845
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100%
LisaB845,
 User Rank: Apprentice
8/24/2017 | 5:46:28 AM
Re: logo
yes it was, saw it too
spam2033
50%
50%
spam2033,
 User Rank: Apprentice
12/26/2016 | 1:27:41 AM
Re:
This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free.    
pengalaman melancong
AndrewfOP
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50%
AndrewfOP,
 User Rank: Moderator
12/23/2016 | 9:57:30 AM
Re: Stats
What I don't understand is this:

Why the pay models for advertisement are not based on sale?  An advertisement that was seen by one hundred and netted $1,000 in sale should be paid more than an advertisement that was seen by one million people but netted only $100.  Prior to digital age, it was difficult to track what form of advertisements generated the final sale.  Now that we have all those fancy algorithms and consumer behavioral collections, it should be much easier to track the relationships between the advertisement and sale.  So why does the model of greater audience for bigger advertising dollars still persist, which is pretty much the main driver of the ad-fraud operations?
Joe Stanganelli
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100%
Joe Stanganelli,
 User Rank: Ninja
12/22/2016 | 7:05:09 PM
Re: A Hollow Economy
Someone I'm close with is a digital marketing exec.  Combined with my own consulting in the space, when we talk, we're flabbergasted with how little people know about PPC and other online ad spending -- and how marketing charlatans are able to make so much money off of them for doing so little (often even being counterproductive)!
Joe Stanganelli
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100%
Joe Stanganelli,
 User Rank: Ninja
12/22/2016 | 6:59:13 PM
Stats
I remember seeing a stat a year or two ago that about two thirds of all online ad impressions/clicks were bots -- and that Google actually knew this but was doing pretty much nothing about this (thus sparking complaints).

That was then.  It's clear that things haven't changed for the better much -- and may have even gotten worse.  Good to see one of these operations exposed to some degree.
censey
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50%
censey,
 User Rank: Apprentice
12/21/2016 | 3:29:54 PM
Analyzing the data yourself is best
If you are paying for digital advertising and monitor your analytics it will be clear in the data if you are being exploited.  In looking at some web media buys we saw a majority of clicks were from a specific line of Nokia Windows mobile devices hitting our pay per click campaign.  The SEO / PPC company you hire probably will over look or ignore any of this - I mean how many people really use a windows mobile device these days!  Fighting the ad network (Google or others) can get you a refund if you have a legitimate arguement. 
geriatric
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50%
geriatric,
 User Rank: Moderator
12/21/2016 | 6:56:09 AM
Re: A Hollow Economy
'Hollow Economy' is a spot-on term. Well said.
RetiredUser
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100%
RetiredUser,
 User Rank: Ninja
12/20/2016 | 4:10:39 PM
A Hollow Economy
I've been doing automated web testing for years; almost 20 years, in fact.  What surprises me the most about this article is not the "hack" itself (which I can't believe some variation on this hasn't been done already, essentially since after the moment this ad pay model appeared), but that this model of ad pay still is being used.  The very fact such huge daily amounts of revenue could be pulled in even by legit means seems ludicrous to me.  Perhaps I feel that way because I'm not out there taking advantage of this model (legally, of course), but more it just disturbs me that we continue to open ourselves up to 1) hacks of this type and 2) bad business practices.  The invisible economy - hollow economy - persists and can only lead to bad things down the road for everyone, much as the dot-com bubble burting taught us.
technoloman
50%
50%
technoloman,
 User Rank: Apprentice
12/20/2016 | 12:43:53 PM
very clever operations by a knowledgeable group
they knew the ins and outs of browser technology, ip technology and ad tech... and probably used hundreds of publisher accounts not to get caught, after all who makes 3 million a day by serving video ads? thats a lot of money.


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