Can someone give me advice here?

[Steveinhouston]

I had a potential customer ask me if I could do some work fior him, and after he decsribed it I told him I was not interested.

He asked me to set his adword clicker to go out and click on his competitors ads. He explained that a well known local services company's owner showed him the setup, using a network of 5 computers and proxy servers these machines do searches and click on all his competitors ads, to deplete their funds each day.

I explained that this was wrong, and he went away exclaiming that he would find someone to do it for him, because it is not illegal, just unethical. Another reason not to do buisness with him.

Now however, I am stuck with secondhand knowledge of this company doing this. I have to believe it is true, because this man was about to fund the same setup.

How do I turn them in? Who regulates such a thing? It would seem that Google would watch for this sort of thing, but apparently they have been doing it for a long time.

[Anthony Buchalka]

Hi Steve,

Can someone give me advice here?

I had a potential customer ask me if I could do some work for him, and after he described it I told him I was not interested.

He asked me to set his adword clicker to go out and click on his competitors ads. He explained that a well known local services company's owner showed him the setup, using a network of 5 computers and proxy servers these machines do searches and click on all his competitors ads, to deplete their funds each day.

I explained that this was wrong, and he went away exclaiming that he would find someone to do it for him, because it is not illegal, just unethical. Another reason not to do business with him.

Now however, I am stuck with secondhand knowledge of this company doing this. I have to believe it is true, because this man was about to fund the same setup.

How do I turn them in? Who regulates such a thing? It would seem that Google would watch for this sort of thing, but apparently they have been doing it for a long time.

Very nasty business indeed.

Google certainly have measures built in to try and prevent click fraud but who knows how effective they are.

I am not legally qualified to advise on the best solution here but there is no doubt that would violate Google's agreement he would have with them as a Google AdWords advertiser.

I would suggest you chat with a lawyer first and consider passing on the information to Google and let them look in to it, especially if you have evidence you can show them. ie copies of emails etc.

It's unscrupulous marketers like that who cause all of us to pay higher CPCs.

Is anyone able to offer some legal advise here??

Anthony

[RichardD]

Yeah I have one good piece of advice dob him in to Google! in exchange for 1st page for your site say for the next 10 years.

[Anthony Buchalka]

Yeah I have one good piece of advice dob him in to Google! in exchange for 1st page for your site say for the next 10 years.

Seems fair

[vanilla23]

If steve would have enough time then he can do it otherwise nobody has time.