Online Ad Fraud, Blog 3

“Federal investigators are searching social media sites for fraudulent and deceptive advertising.” This is very interesting, since most internet users have seen the fraudulent advertisements, and pop-ups that bombard us every day. Have you ever wondered how many innocent people are scammed by marketing and advertising artists, online? I know I have. It seems that the growing deception online has led Canada’s Competition Bureau to crack down on abusers. Just because it is online doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to pass codes of conduct. Many companies are getting away with trickery and fraud through the means of online ads, and its not fair to the many users of the internet. Canada’s Competition Bureau has now made a sweep of certain advertisement sites and is going to try to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate ads. This may lead to a cleaner and safer environment for online browsing, but it might not make much of an effect at all. The internet is still a highly uncontrolled environment open to the entire world, and one Canadian Competition Bureau might not have the effect it initially set out to make. However, “The agency has asked that anyone who believes they have been a victim of deceptive practices by an online advertiser to call 1-800-348-5358.” This may be the innovative beginning of a more regulated internet world, compared to what we are used to.

Source: CBC News