Yahoo sued over spyware-powered click fraud

Posted on Friday, May 05 2006 @ 16:44 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Ben Edelman, an anti-spyware activist, sued Yahoo today. Edelman claims the search engine has partnered up with spyware firms to fraud advertisers:
The bombshell suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey, also alleges that Yahoo used its Overture pay-per-click advertising network to make money from the practice of typo-squatting, in which slight variations of popular URLs are registered so as to serve ads to users who type in misspelled versions of domain names.

A Yahoo spokesperson declined comment on the suit. "We will vigorously defend our position," the company said in a statement sent to eWEEK.

The suit comes less than a month after Edelman blew the lid off a spyware-powered click-fraud scam using the Yahoo-owned Overture pay-per-click network to swindle advertisers. Yahoo has also been closely linked to Direct Revenue, an adware vendor that was recently sued by the New York attorney general's office.
You can read more about this case over at eWeek.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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