Click Fraud Enters the Big Time
Monday, May 22nd, 2006 at 5:33 pm by Jeffrey Perren, AC Magazine
A big botnet is on the loose.
Unlike the ultra-cool robots in science fiction movies, this piece of scumware is out to cheat you of hard earned cash. Linda Buquet of 5 Star Affiliate Programs posted a piece of the story reported (among other places) on Help Net Security.
“PandaLabs has detected a network of computers infected with the bot Clickbot.A, which is being used to defraud ‘pay per click’ systems, registering clicks automatically and providing lucrative returns for the creators. According to the data collected so far, the scam is exploiting a global network comprising more than 34,000 zombie computers (those infected by the bot).”
Even hackers have turned materialistic these days, and are willing to create payloads that don’t delete files or splash annoying messages, but artificially click ads. They click away, mindlessly making money out of thin ether. But like any non-productive activity, it doesn’t create anything of value — it simply steals from hardworking affiliates.
Fight back.
In our upcoming issue of Affiliate Classroom magazine, Yours Truly discusses the phenomenon and provides some resources and guidance on how to do just that.
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A while ago I found out about the click sites and since they offered a lot of money per click I decided to give it a try. I clicked for many different internet ‘firms’ and after a couple of months I had clicked together the sum of $ 132.000,-. Not one of these firms has paid me out. I have reported them to a fraud site, FBI etc etc., but that did not help me to get paid. All the ‘firms’ promised to pay out, the ones that promised a percentage I left out. When one writes to the ‘firms’ one does not get a reply. There were quite a few Polish ones, a Belgian and Americans doing it.
It is disgusting that they can get away with such fraudulent practises. I am an older person and this money would have paid for a better old age, something like a pension. What can you do for those of us being cheated out of our rightful earnings? Please, your answer.
KC