Ad Cloaking Abuses Highlighted in New TrustInAds.org Spotlight Report
Bad actors using sophisticated coding scripts to deceive advertising platforms
WASHINGTON, May 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- TrustInAds.org, a coalition of internet industry leaders working to protect people from malicious online advertisements and deceptive practices, today released its latest Bad Ads Spotlight Report detailing how some bad actors use sophisticated coding scripts to deceive an advertising platform's' approval processes to get bad ads on the web. This deception, known as ad cloaking, exposes users not only to content that is a violation of the platform's advertising policies, but also to content that is low quality, inaccurate, or misleading in nature.
"Bad actors are constantly looking for new ways to circumvent or deceive a platform's ad review process, and though the instances we've uncovered that can be attributed to ad cloaking are limited, it seems to be a growing trend," said Rob Haralson, Executive Director of TrustInAds.org. "We feel it is important to raise awareness around some of the challenges we face everyday in fighting against bad actors to protect users and ensure the online advertising ecosystem remains vibrant and trusted."
Ad cloaking is an obfuscation method used by advertisers to alter the content of a landing page based upon a predetermined factor. The primary intent of ad cloaking is to show different content to the advertising platform than what is shown to the user in order to push traffic to non-compliant web pages. The advertiser will show a compliant page to the advertising platform during a quality review; however, through the use of scripts that purposely redirect the user, when he or she clicks on the same ad, they are taken to a non-compliant page.
"As we have highlighted in our previous reports, one of the best ways our member companies can defend users from harmful scams and bad ads is through user feedback," said Haralson. "We strongly encourage users to flag suspicious bad ads by reporting them to the advertising platform."
To download a copy the Bad Ads Spotlight: Ad Cloaking Abuses report, visit http://TrustInAds.org.
About TrustInAds.org
Founded by Facebook, Google and Twitter, TrustInAds.org comprises a group of internet industry leaders that have come together to work toward a common goal: Protect people from malicious online advertisements and deceptive practices. With this effort, TrustInAds.org and its member companies are: Bringing awareness to consumers about online ad-related scams and deceptive activities; collaborating to identify trends in deceptive ads and sharing best practices; and sharing our knowledge with policymakers and consumer advocates around the country. To learn more, visit http://trustinads.org. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.
Contact:
Rob Haralson
[email protected]
(202) 888-6829
SOURCE TrustInAds.org
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