Stay safe online
Ad scams
Good, relevant advertising can be useful, and often helps you find things that interest you more quickly and easily. Thankfully advertising on the web has come a long way over the last few years, and it’s now a lot less common to see annoying and irrelevant ads that pop up and take over your screen than it once was.
But unfortunately not all ads are placed with good intent and as the web has grown, the sophistication and volume of online scams has continued to increase. In 2011, out of the billions of ads submitted to Google, we shut down more than 130 million for violating our policies. Here are a few tips to help you avoid scammers and stay safe on the web:
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If it’s too good to be true, it probably is…
Be wary of online ads offering deals that seem too good to be true. Ads promising expensive products or services for free or next to nothing, such as a new car or island vacation, likely have a malicious intent.
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Avoid the usual suspects…
Ads congratulating you for being a website’s one-millionth visitor, offering prizes (like a new laptop or tablet) in exchange for completing a survey, or promoting quick and easy ways to make money (“get rich quick working from your home in just two hours a day!”) are more often than not up to no good.
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Watch out for Google money scammers…
Some online ads illegally use the word “Google” or other trademarks to promote false “work from home” or “get rich quick” schemes. Google does not offer such programs; remember: if you can’t find an advertised product or service on our list of Google products or on the business solutions page, don’t trust it.
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When in doubt, play it safe…
Do you just have a bad feeling about an ad? Trust your gut! Only click on ads that you think are safe and leading to a legitimate website.
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Report scam ads…
If you clicked on or saw a bad ad on Google, please let us know using this feedback form. We are committed to developing the best experience for our users and doing our best to never show you ads that can be harmful.
How we keep ads safe
It’s good to know how to avoid unsafe ads. Read the next topic: How to keep your Gmail account secure