FRAUDULENT ADVERTISING ONLINE - EMERGING RISKS AND CONSUMER FRAUD - IP LAW GALLI
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FRAUDULENT
ADVERTISING ONLINE
EMERGING RISKS AND
CONSUMER FRAUD
T R AC I T. O R G
ABOUT TRACIT
The Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT) is an independent,
private sector initiative to drive change to mitigate the economic and social
damages of illicit trade by strengthening government enforcement mechanisms
and mobilizing businesses across industry sectors most impacted by illicit trade.
ABOUT AAFA
The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) is the national trade
association representing apparel, footwear and other sewn products companies,
and their suppliers, which compete in the global market. Representing more than
1,000 world famous name brands, AAFA is the trusted public policy and political
voice of the apparel and footwear industry, its management and shareholders,
its nearly four million U.S. workers, and its contribution of more than
$400 billion in annual U.S. retail sales. www.aafaglobal.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION
This report is available online in PDF format, along with an Executive Summary
and ancillary documentation. Visit www.tracit.org/publications.html
MEDIA
All media enquires should be directed to Cindy Braddon, Head of
Communications and Public Policy, cindy.braddon@TRACIT.org
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter: @TRACIT_org
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/tracitorg
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We express our appreciation to Toe Su Aung and Sam Irving of Elipe, Ltd.,
for their diligent research and insightful guidance (www.elipe-global.com).
We also appreciate the contributions of the many corporations who have
identifed and shared examples of fraudulent advertising of their products.
The objective of this report is to help rid the Internet of widespread fraud in
advertising. The first step in this process is to shed light on the prevalence of
fraudulent advertising appearing on shopping and social media platforms. Better
educated consumers are in a better position to defend themselves against
fraud. Whenever fraudulent advertisements are found, we suggest in the first
instance that these are reported to the relevant platform on which they appear,
and where appropriate to law enforcement or government regulators.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
What’s the fuss about fraudulent websites also show a disregard for data privacy
advertising? and expose consumers to credit card fraud,
identify theft, and other cybercrimes. Even more
Fraudulent advertising is rapidly emerging as a
alarming is evidence that a coordinated criminal
new risk to consumers shopping online, where
network (or networks) are often behind the
millions of consumers are exposed to thousands
adverts.
of fraudulent advertisements taking them to
thousands of illegitimate e-commerce websites What needs to be done?
that defraud and/or sell counterfeit products and
Advertising has long been regulated by
deceitful services.
governments to ensure that messages are truthful
In keeping pace with consumer trends—and to and do not mislead reasonable consumers about
stay one step ahead of controls—illicit traders now aspects of a product or service. In some countries,
post fraudulent adverts that divert unsuspecting there is also consideration of fairness, which
consumers to websites featuring counterfeits, focuses on whether an advert causes substantial
fake services, and other fraud. Of concern is that consumer injury.1
the adverts are all over social media networks
However, similar controls are not sufficiently
like Facebook and Instagram, or other popular
applied to advertising on the Internet. While
websites like YouTube or Google, where people
there are several new initiatives to address certain
are not expecting fraud.
aspects of online advertising, more controls on
This report shows that more than 70 major fraudulent advertising appearing on legitimate
international brands were targeted by fraudulent websites including social media are needed.
adverts on Instagram and Facebook since 2017,
Solutions could be driven by government
some of which received up to a quarter of a
leadership, through the application of offline
million views before they were detected. And just
advertising standards to today’s online
like legal adverts that seem to magically know
marketplaces. Such steps could ensure multi-
what you are looking for, even before you started
factor verification systems or other mechanisms
searching for it, fraudulent adverts are also often
to support a “trusted” user program are applied
hyper-targeted at consumers based on specific
to the act of fraudulent online advertising.
interests, location, demographics or browsing
history. Leadership could also be taken by the major
Internet platforms that are currently enabling
In addition to advertising fake and substandard
the fraudulent practices. Notably Facebook
products, there is a growing trend of deceptive
and Instagram are not implementing sufficient
advertising for fraudulent commercial and
verification of an advertiser’s identity as they
financial services, where names and images
enter a commercial advertising relationship with
of popular personalities are used without
these platforms.
authorization.
Hand in hand with fraudulent advertising is the
For consumers, their exposure to counterfeit
persisting presence of rogue websites specifically
goods and fraudulent services presents direct and
built to sell counterfeit or other illicit products.
indirect health and safety risks. Most fraudulent
FRAUDULENT ADVERTISING ONLINE: EMERGING RISKS AND CONSUMER FRAUD 1
In the absence of rogue destination websites, Similar verifications should be required for
fraudulent adverts would have nowhere to online advertisers, including the disclosure
redirect consumers. For these reasons, efforts of certain verified information regarding
taken concurrently with domain name registrars sellers, such as identity, principal place of
and Internet Service Providers can improve business, contact information, verified bank
the prevention, blocking and removal of these account information, government-issued photo
infringing sites and, consequently, reduce the identification, and a business tax identification
effectiveness of the fraudulent advertising number.
schemes. Notably, the converse is also true that
The objective of this report is to help rid the
these websites would gain little to no traffic
Internet of widespread fraud in advertising.
without advertising to divert consumers to them.
Consumers should have a safe and secure
Clearly, a holistic, across-the-board, approach
shopping experience like that available offline.
is needed to address the misuse of Internet
This means defending against the sale of
platforms for illicit trade.
fraudulent products consumers may find on their
Is there a reasonable solution? own as well as defending against the fraudulent
advertising that lures consumers to illegal
The lack of sufficient policies and procedures
websites.
to verify an advertising intermediary’s true
identity and conduct the necessary vetting and
due diligence during the onboarding process2 is a
system weakness across multiple Internet-based
social media and shopping platforms.
Therefore, requiring these intermediaries to
provide sufficient and accurate information is a
solution of the highest priority, especially when
considering that those abusing the platforms
will not be sufficiently deterred unless they can
be identified and punished. A parallel example
is the priority included in the January 2020 U.S.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Report
on Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and
Pirated Goods to significantly enhance vetting
of third-party sellers by encouraging platforms
to put in place a uniform and articulable vetting
regime.
2 TRACIT.ORG
HOW BIG IS THE PROBLEM?
Fraudulent advertising is everywhere
online
Fraudulent advertising has emerged as the latest
online threat to consumers. In keeping pace with
consumer trends—and to stay one step ahead of
controls—illicit traders now post fraudulent ads
that divert unsuspecting consumers to websites
featuring counterfeits, fake services, and other
fraud. Alarmingly, the adverts are all over social
media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, or
other popular websites like YouTube or Google,
where people are not expecting fraud.
• Since May 2017, more than 70 consumer
and apparel companies confirmed to have
been targeted by fraudulent and infringing
sponsored adverts on Instagram and
Facebook. The actual number is likely to
be significantly higher, as these advertisers
target brands indiscriminately across multiple
sectors. Given a common modus operandi,
it appears there may also be a coordinated
criminal network or networks behind the
adverts, using hacked Facebook or bot-
generated profiles together with stolen profit through easy-to-find videos touting
credit card data to post adverts that mislead overpriced face masks and bogus vaccines,
consumers and direct them to e-commerce costing consumers more than $5 million.4
websites that defraud and/or sell counterfeit
products. • An advert on Facebook told a gloomy story of
a Los Angeles family that died from COVID-19
• Fraudsters have used Google’s video platform as a trick to divert customers to a website
YouTube to exploit the popularity of certain selling protective face masks. Turns out the
popular video games to create videos that story is not true; the family is alive and well
trick consumers to download risky apps or and the face masks for sale are unapproved.5
purchase bogus services. In worst cases, users
are being tricked out of significant sums of • In April 2019, an advert for fake Tommy
money. One scam automatically charged Hilfiger apparel was identified on LinkedIn.
a subscription fee of $99.99. Within days, The advert was directing people to the rogue
it generated over 118,000 views.3 Also on website www.tommy-top.com, that was
YouTube, scammers are using COVID-19 to identical to other fraudulent and counterfeit
websites identified via Instagram adverts.
FRAUDULENT ADVERTISING ONLINE: EMERGING RISKS AND CONSUMER FRAUD 3
Fake adverts are intended to deceive This means that counterfeiters have figured
out precisely how to hide their activities from
Just like legal adverts that seem to magically
investigation by brands and possibly even the
know everyone’s online shopping wish list,
platforms themselves. Consequently, it can
fraudulent adverts are also often hyper-targeted
be extremely difficult to determine the actual
at consumers based on specific interests, location,
destination website where potentially deceived
demographics or browsing history.
consumers end up. And even if an originating
Moreover, tactics used by counterfeiters fraudulent advert itself may be reported and
to confuse shoppers on Amazon or other removed from the platform, the website it once
e-Commerce platforms are similarly being used directed to will continue to operate and probably
by criminals posting fraudulent advertisements. be used again in another advert. Moreover, some
These deceptive tactics include the use of scammers use an innocuous website address
well-known trademarks, unauthorized images when configuring an advert (such as a legitimate
protected by copyright and fake offers to create website from a department store) only to swap
extremely professional looking fake adverts to a counterfeit website as soon as the advert has
that would be indistinguishable from legitimate been approved and gone live.
adverts—except the hyperlinks divert consumers
By conducting reverse IP address investigations
to criminal websites selling counterfeit items or
on these websites, it was also discovered that
fraudulent services.
it was possible to find multiple other rogue
For example, there was a significant spike in the websites selling counterfeit of many well-known
number of fraudulent adverts posted by generic brands. For example, the website http://oite.
new accounts (e.g. “Fashion jacket store” and poitemall.com was identified from a Facebook
“Backpack discount”) in the two-week run-up advertisement targeting Japanese consumers.
to “Black Friday” in 2019. The adverts and the The website shares its IP address with 232
associated rogue websites offered huge unrealistic other domains/websites, including http://www.
discounts targeting popular toys, handbags, denlweshop.com which targeted the luxury brand
winter jackets and boots, guitars, and fitness Coach. Similar to the other counterfeit sites
trackers, as well as many popular fashion clothing sharing the same IP address, this one likewise
brands. Underpinning the scam is the consumer offered “80% off”, displayed false company
knowledge that discounts from legitimate brands and address information about the website’s
may be higher than normal around Black Friday. operator and included a Russian email address
Hand in hand with the fraudulent advertising is (24service@bag-ok.ru) that did not match the
the deployment of falsely displayed destination domain name. This suggests there is a larger
URLs within the adverts, multiple URL redirects, cybercriminal network utilizing these domains to
URL cloaking techniques and URL shorteners exploit consumers across different search engines
(bit.ly) to deceive consumers and prevent and social media platforms.
detection from investigators. These sophisticated
Product fraud and counterfeiting
URL redirects will often change the website
destinations when a user clicks on an advert Scams can spread like wildfire on social media,
depending on whether the user is viewing the the very nature of which encourages us to
advert on a desktop browser or via the social share and like posts so that they are seen by as
network’s own app. In addition, many of these many people as possible. Millions of consumers
links are only accessible when viewed within the are exposed to thousands of fraudulent
Instagram app (and not on the desktop browser). advertisements taking them to thousands of
4 TRACIT.ORG
illegitimate e-commerce websites that defraud Services fraud
and/or sell counterfeit products and deceitful
In addition to fraudulent adverts of fake or
services.
substandard products, there is a growing trend of
Some potential scams may seem innocent at first. fraudulent advertising of commercial and financial
For example, a simple quiz that ultimately gets services. Public figures such as UK financial
you to reveal the answers to common banking journalist Martin Lewis8 and Dutch businessman
security questions. There are also cases where John de Mol9 have spoken out about how their
scammers pose as your Facebook friends and names and images have been used without
reach out, claiming they are in urgent need of authorization in adverts to promote fraudulent
money. services and fake products. Both have taken legal
measures to compel action against these scams.
This report is underpinned by data collected
on more than 70 consumer and apparel brands Martin Lewis initially sued Facebook for
confirmed to have been targeted by fraudulent defamation after a year in which over 1,000 scam
and infringing sponsored adverts on Instagram adverts abusing his name or image had appeared
and Facebook since 2017 (Figure 1).7 The actual on the platform, likely seen by millions of people
number is likely to be significantly higher, as in the UK. In response, Facebook acknowledged
these advertisers target brands indiscriminately the scale of the problem, its impact on real people,
across multiple sectors. Furthermore, the adverts and agreed to commit to making a difference both
are optimized to attract attention and can receive on its own platform and across the wider sector.
large numbers of views even if only active for a
Dutch billionaire John de Mol filed a lawsuit
short period of time. It has been observed that
against Facebook for allowing fake adverts on
some of these adverts have received over 240,000
its platform, which used his name and image to
views within just a couple of days. Given the size,
perpetrate Bitcoin-related fraud. Lawyers for De
scope and number of brands affected, the scale of
Mol said that consumers had been swindled out
the deception and fraud occurring on social media
of €1.7 million ($1.9 million) by the fraudulent
platforms cannot be underestimated.
Figure 16
1. Adidas 21. Dewalt 41. Moncler 58. Stone Island
2. Apple 22. Dr. Martens 42. Montblanc 59. Superdry
3. Arc'teryx 23. Emporio Armani 43. Monsoon and 60. Supreme
4. Ariat 24. Fila Accessorize 61. The North Face
5. Balenciaga 25. Fjällräven 44. Muck Boots (Honeywell) 62. Timberland
6. Berluti 26. Geox 45. National Football League 63. Tommy Hilfiger
7. Bose 27. Gymshark (US NFL) 64. Tony Bianco
8. Braun 28. HP (laptops) 46. National Hockey League 65. Trek (bikes)
9. Breville 29. Hugo Boss (US NHL) 66. TUMI
10. Brooks Sports 30. Husqvarna 47. New Balance 67. UEFA Football Club
11. Calvin Klein 31. JBL 48. Nike jerseys (including
12. Camper 32. Keen 49. Nintendo Juventus F.C., Liverpool
13. Canada Goose 33. Kenzo 50. Off-White F.C., Real Madrid C.F. and
14. Canon 34. Kipling 51. Patagonia Tottenham Hotspur F.C.)
15. Carhaart 35. Lacoste 52. PlayStation (Sony) 68. Ugg/Deckers
16. Cartier 36. Lego 53. Ralph Lauren 69. Van Cleef
17. Chanel 37. Levi's 54. Ray-Ban 70. Vans
18. Clarks (Shoes) 38. Louis Vuitton 55. Salomon 71. Vasque
19. Converse 39. Makita 56. Saucony 72. Weber
20. Delonghi 40. Michael Kors 57. SKECHERS 73. Xbox (Microsoft)
FRAUDULENT ADVERTISING ONLINE: EMERGING RISKS AND CONSUMER FRAUD 5
adverts, and that he was only one of several Although this report is not a quantitative study
Dutch celebrities targeted. In this case, the on the size and value of counterfeiting, important
Amsterdam District Court found that while it may conclusions on the impact of fraudulent
not be “technically easy” for a platform to take advertising can be drawn from current trends.
measures against these serious advertising scams, According to a 2017 report by Frontier Economics,
it is still the platform’s responsibility to protect the global economic value of counterfeiting (not
consumers.10 including digital piracy) in 2020 is approximately
$1.8 trillion.11 Online sales now represent between
Certainly, Facebook’s response to the Lewis case
14-16 percent of total global retail sales during
acknowledges at least a degree of responsibility
the 2019-2020 time frame.12 Consequently, as
and the Amsterdam Court’s view calls for greater
a share of global counterfeiting, the value of
responsibility. However, while many popular
counterfeits purchased through online outlets
websites and social media platforms provide
would equal $252-288 Billion. This estimate
tools for de-listing fake adverts based on IP
compares reasonably to the 2018 Global Brand
infringements, these measures do not address
Counterfeiting Report, which estimates that
the root problem. Unfortunately, even after being
the losses suffered due to online counterfeiting
reported and removed adverts often reappear
globally amounted to $323 Billion in 2017.13
within 24 hours, with slightly different content.
Fraudulent Ads have even been found appearing Sometimes the campaigns are fiercely aligned to
in “Instagram Stories” which only last 24 hours. global shopping events, where criminal networks
That makes it impossible for brand owners to are orchestrating the creation of hundreds of
keep track of the threats and take effective action. ad accounts, websites, hosting and payment
One brand owner reported taking down an infrastructures in order to maximize their return
average 30 adverts every day on just one popular on investment whilst competing against the
social media site. legitimate brands in the same space. Some of the
fraudulent adverts for well-known brands can
Taken together, the question remains whether
attract a quarter of a million views in a single
the platforms can and will improve preemptive
day. In another example, one fraudulent advert
measures to identify and block fraudulent adverts.
Instagram for counterfeit goods used a domain
Economic impact linked to 3,200 other rogue domains, all featuring
The emerging gateway to illicit sales online is a ‘high discounts’ for branded items and no contact
link from a fraudulent advert to a rogue website information.
offering illicit products. Collected research Given that counterfeiting increased by 154 percent
provides evidence over time indicating there are over the last decade and that online shopping
hundreds of thousands of fraudulent adverts is increasing by 10-20 percent per year, if left
available, backed by large networks of scam and unchecked, this problem will continue to grow.14
rogue websites ready to receive and defraud
unsuspecting consumers. As highlighted in this
report, the trend is to increasingly feature the
realistic, but nonetheless fraudulent, adverts on
social media platforms that can instantly reach
millions of unsuspecting online users.
6 TRACIT.ORG
WHAT ARE THE DANGERS?
1. Consumer risks 2. Business and brand owners
Fraudulent adverts give innocent consumers Today’s increasingly knowledge-based economy is
a false impression of authenticity by using driven and dependent on continuous innovation.
fake trademarks of popular brands and other In contrast, IP theft in the form of trademark
infringements such as misrepresented images of counterfeiting and copyright piracy stifles
genuine products, slogans, and corporate style. economic growth and job creation by discouraging
They often use words such as “discount”, “100% innovation, reducing incentives for companies to
genuine”, “Official store”, ”90% off” or other invest in R&D and inhibiting creative industries
wording designed to attract attention. from realizing their full potential.
For brands and consumers, the threat posed Fraud, especially involving the acquisition of
by fraudulent adverts can be severe and their counterfeits, severely damages the reputation of
exposure to counterfeit goods poses direct and legitimate brands, as well as taking away potential
indirect health and safety risks. customers. Counterfeit goods are generally of poor
quality, will not last, are not guaranteed, and may
Legal manufacturers abide by regulations
be dangerous. When consumers are disappointed
and invest heavily in innovation and product
with the purchasing experience, it diminishes
development, with brands serving as guarantees
legitimate sales, which has consequences for
of quality and safety. In contrast, counterfeiters
investment, employment, revenue, and tax
make their money by sidestepping product
collection. Meanwhile, it also places additional
safety regulations, environmental controls, and
demands on law enforcement agencies.
labor laws. Consequently, counterfeit goods are
often of sub-standard quality or of unknown 3. Data privacy
and sometimes dubious chemical/material
Most fraudulent websites show a disregard for
composition.15 Even relatively innocuous goods,
data privacy of any type, including customer
such as watches, apparel and handbags can pose
data, security, and financial information. (Figure
health risks for consumers when counterfeiters
2.) Since these websites rarely use any form
use potentially harmful materials (allergenic and/
of security, consumers are often also exposed
or toxic).16 Examples include the use of prohibited
to credit card fraud, identify theft, and other
carcinogenic dyes to color fabrics and children’s
cybercrimes.20
clothing made from highly flammable fabrics
that burn quickly and intensively.17 Counterfeit Another risk is linked to scam adverts concerning
cosmetics and personal care products containing consumer goods. Adverts purporting to be from
dangerous levels of lead, mercury, cyanide and legitimate fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)
other carcinogens can cause severe allergic companies will offer free products, such as
reactions and pose a particular threat to pregnant toothbrushes, toothpaste, or laundry detergent,
women and their unborn babies.18 in exchange for completing a survey or otherwise
FRAUDULENT ADVERTISING ONLINE: EMERGING RISKS AND CONSUMER FRAUD 7
Figure 2 19 • In some examples, the
adverts actually directed
users to these retailers’
websites, possibly
indicating that they were
initially configured to
appear legitimate in order
to pass Facebook’s ad
review stage – and then
once approved they were
edited to direct consumers
to the fraudulent
websites.
• The adverts use a series
of URL redirects and
utilize Facebook’s own
inputting personal data. The data gathered website analytics visitor
through these means may then be used to further and tracking tool, Facebook Pixel, to analyze
defraud the consumer through other phishing the success of the adverts and improve the
and cold-calling scams. reach of new adverts in the next fraudulent
4. Organized crime campaign.
As noted by EUROPOL, “Trading in counterfeit • The ad destination URLs sometimes did not
products is a relatively low risk activity, involving direct to an active website, but the destination
minimal penalties whilst providing high profits, URL would have a .cn, .tw or .pw extension.
and will increasingly attract [organized crime In many cases, the websites are created using
groups] previously involved in other crime Chinese registrant details; however, these
areas.”21 The fraudulent and infringing adverts appear to be false or incomplete.
discovered on Facebook often share similar
characteristics, suggesting that organized crime
groups or organized illicit networks are operating
these fraudulent ad campaigns.
Further evidence of a sophisticated, coordinated
criminal approach is found in the common
application of the deceptive/misleading
technological features and techniques. For
example, fraudulent advertisements provide a
visible URL of well-known online retailers (e.g.,
amazon.de, jdsports.co.uk and Zalando.co.uk) that
also use Instagram to advertise. In some cases,
the scams use the official URLs of the brands
being counterfeited only to redirect consumers to
a fraudulent website that mirrors the official one.
8 TRACIT.ORGWHAT ARE THE CAUSES?
The root cause of the problem is that most social on a popular social media site.22 They reported
media platforms and e-Commerce websites accept 3,834 views, 73 clicks and 19 forwards all within
advertising without proper controls over the 24 hours and for the small price of £ 15. (Figure
source of the advertiser. In addition, weaknesses 3.)
in the system that enable advanced technologies
It appears that social media platforms,
to generate and place the adverts are also a big
notably Facebook and Instagram, are not
part of the problem. There is also little protection
implementing sufficient substantive verification
from repeat offenders and the fraudulent adverts
of an advertiser’s identity as they enter into a
would have no purpose if it were not for larger
commercial advertising relationship with such
failures which allow fraudulent, infringing and
platforms; often as little as a credit card and an
otherwise rogue websites and domains to exist.
email address is enough to create an advertising
1. Limited verification account, both of which could be stolen from other
unwitting customers. This is placing consumers
Without robust due diligence checks that verify
at significant risk by exposing them to adverts by
the identity of who is advertising on the platform,
unknown parties intending the sale of counterfeit
fraudulent advertisers are free to exploit the
goods or other fraudulent practices. By adopting
system with little risk of exposure and virtually no
best practices in “know your business customer”
risk of punishment or penalty.
checks, platforms can mitigate against this risk.
The placement of a fraudulent advert can be done
in just a couple hours at very little cost. In fact 2. System weaknesses
a UK-based consumer interest journal recently Research has shown that a fundamental gateway
demonstrated the ease of posting a fake scam ad to fraudulent advertising is the creation of an
illegitimate hosting page. In
Figure 3 order to be able to advertise
on Instagram or Facebook, a
Facebook account and page is
required. However, there are
no apparent controls on such
accounts, such as account
history, relevance to the
advert, or level of activity.
FRAUDULENT ADVERTISING ONLINE: EMERGING RISKS AND CONSUMER FRAUD 9What has been observed in the accounts posting to prevent or take down such infringing sites.
the fraudulent adverts is that they are often (i) However, the converse is also true that these
compromised (hacked) Facebook profiles/pages websites would gain little to no traffic without
or (ii) a newly created bot-generated Facebook advertising that diverts consumers to them. While
“Community” page. some consumers may discover these fraudulent
websites through organic search results, a
• Many of the fraudulent sponsored ads are significant number will be diverted to them by the
from compromised Facebook accounts of fraudulent adverts.
businesses or small organizations that have
been “hacked” and have no connection to the Efforts to clean up fraud online, must go hand
advert that is being sponsored. For instance, a in hand, so that social media platforms are kept
fraudulent advert for a (fake) Tommy Hilfiger aware of any websites being taken down which
shirt, might be artificially sponsored by some are linked to an advertising account on their
completely unrelated Facebook host, such as platforms, so that they might check for other
“Business Insurances”, “Medisch Pedicure” potentially infringing websites connected to the
or “Georgian College Benefit Concert”. With same account; where an advert is successfully
multiple high-profile personal data breaches taken down, the platform should also notify the
in recent years, millions of email and relevant ISP and registrar so that they can take
password records have been exposed thus appropriate action against the registrant.
making compromised Facebook profiles and
4. Little protection from repeat
pages by cyber criminals more likely.
infringers
• A bot-generated account is a sophisticated It is not difficult to repeat a fraudulent advert,
operation, where a computer sets up a even after being reported. This is partly because
Facebook account or page which is then some adverts may avoid using IP-infringing
used to post the fraudulent adverts. These brand names and keywords and partly because
pages often contain unrelated, little or no adverts often reappear in slightly different
information and no content. They are typically forms after being delisted—even after hundreds
generated within a 6-month window of of similar adverts have been reported. The fact
the advert going live, which gives the bot- that so many international brands have been
generated pages a “legitimate” Facebook targeted by fraudulent adverts using the same
“footprint”, which may be strengthened by modus operandi over a three year period suggest
bot-generated “likes” that build up a history social media platforms must take more robust
on the platform. measures on stopping recidivist activities relating
to advertising or seek assistance from law
3. No controls on destination websites enforcement.
When Instagram or Facebook users click on
fraudulent sponsored adverts, an in-app browser 5. Deceptive practices
typically directs them to an external website A fraudulent advert typically appearing on
operating a web shop. These are typically rogue Instagram or Facebook targeting a well-known
websites designed specifically to sell counterfeit or brand can be of very high design quality,
fraudulent products. showcasing the most popular product’s images
(typically taken from the original brand’s
For these reasons, domain name registrars and
website). They feature very high discounts,
Internet Service Providers have been encouraged
10 TRACIT.ORGusually 50% and above, and bogus logos for April 2018, another fraudulent advert appeared,
payment (e.g., Visa, Mastercard, Paypal) to entice displaying to consumers the website address Love.
consumers into a quick purchase. Domain name sjut1i.cn, but was actually directing consumers
typically uses generic TLDs or ccTLDs (.top, to the destination website www.vote2018.site.
.VIP, .tw, .pw, .online, .store, .club). Websites are The website www.vote2018.site was identical to
not typically SSL secured (https); however, this both www.saletommy.com and www.clotheshe.
appears to be changing. com websites shown above. It is of note that when
registering domain names with a .cn extension,
Figure 4 registrants are required to verify their personal or
business identity.
Examples of deceptive marketing 6. Online advertising supply chain
“100% authentic”
Given the repeated similarities of fraudulent
“Free & fast delivery available”
adverts identified throughout this report, it is
“Official store online” evident that there is a systemic problem with the
“No reason refund in 7 days” online advertising supply chain. In particular, the
“Secure payment” current absence of any substantive verification
‘Factory direct price” of an advertiser’s commercial and/or personal
“Satisfied or refunded” identity and the review process for submitted ads
“Summer sales – only 3 day” themselves appears to be insufficient in tackling
the scale of the deception and fraud occurring on
“Black Friday”
social media platforms.
“Stock Clearance Sale”
“Warehouse Clearance Sale” This is a problem that has been identified by
many brand owners, operating in various
“90% discount”
sectors, and with numerous websites. It therefore
requires a concerted, industry-wide solution. At
present, brand owners are carrying the bulk of
In October 2017, an advert was identified with responsibility by taking down fraudulent websites
Facebook’s Commerce & Ads IP Tool, which and the adverts that link to them. But this is not
used images of counterfeit products. The URL going to solve the problem, as it is too big and
displayed to consumers was “ebay.com” and the fast-moving.
advertisement was sponsored by a “Community” While it is appreciated that there is a need for
page that appeared to be compromised with no a degree of anonymity for social media users
affiliation or connection to the subject brand. The in many situations, when use of a platform
actual destination was www.saletommy.com, a changes from personal use (social interaction and
fraudulent website, which made unauthorized use connection) to a commercial use (advertising of
of Tommy Hilfiger copyright protected imagery goods/services), there should be enhanced checks
and logos. The website did not have a “contact and transparency for potential customers into the
us” page or contact form, or any information to identity of those commercial actors.
identify the entity responsible for its operation.
On 10 November 2017, an advert by a Facebook Platforms need to confirm that any data provided
page called XZ Fancy Bread was identified with to an advertiser is complete, correct and not bot-
over 18,000 “Likes”. This ad directed users to the generated and enhanced verification needs to be
website www.clotheshe.com which was identical made of the external websites that adverts direct
to www.saletommy.com. Six months later, on 18 to in order to achieve this.
FRAUDULENT ADVERTISING ONLINE: EMERGING RISKS AND CONSUMER FRAUD 11WHAT IS BEING DONE?
Despite its prevalence and harm, very little is who do not have skills to police fraudulent
being done to rid the Internet of fraudulent adverts. It will also be essential that the program
advertisements. Nonetheless, very little is move swiftly. As presented the program will give
being done to rid the Internet of fraudulent feedback or provide approval within three to five
advertisements. In particular, the current absence business days, using a combination of human and
of any substantive verification of an advertiser’s tech reviews. Currently, Google policy is to make
commercial and/or personal identity along with every effort to ensure that adverts which may
a weak review process for submitted adverts violate their policies do not run prior to review,
are major vulnerabilities illicit traders exploit but that some may run on Google before the
to deceive and defraud consumers online and Google Ads Specialists check them.24
particularly on social media platforms.
With regard to its popular YouTube
In response to mounting evidence—such as that platform, Google has ad policies that address
contained in this report—along with pressure misrepresentation and misleading content,
from brand owners and consumer groups and copyright infringement, and trademark
complaints from social media users, the platforms infringement. However, IP owners report
have recently promised improvements. that enforcement largely falls to them and the
ability to monitor for such activity is limited
For example, Google has announced that it will
by deceptive techniques employed by the
require advertisers to verify their identity to
infringers. Consequently, Google must consider
prevent them from misrepresenting themselves.23
taking proactive actions against fraudulent ad
Key elements of the program (as indicated) will
campaigns.25
be the requirement of personal legal information
(like a W9 or IRS document showing the In the case of Facebook, in the aftermath of a
organization’s name, address and employer fraudulent Facebook ad for a company selling face
identification number). There will also be a 30- masks, which claimed all but one member of a
day verification process, after which Google said Los Angeles family died from COVID-19, Facebook
it will suspend the account and the advertiser’s pulled all versions of the advert. Furthermore,
ability to serve ads until verification is provided. the company says in order to crack down on
Google also stated that advertising agencies will businesses taking advantage of fear during the
need to complete verification on behalf of each of coronavirus pandemic, it has banned all ads
their advertiser clients. And where businesses like having to do with hand sanitizer, face masks,
pharmacies already must go through certification wipes, and COVID-19 tests.26
processes, they will still need to take the new,
In some countries, Facebook also requires proof
additional verification steps.
of identification for any user wishing to post
While the elements of this program are in the advertisements relating to politics, elections, or
right direction, it will be important to evaluate its social issues.27 This is not, however, a global policy,
effectiveness to ensure that Google puts in place nor does it extend to forms fraudulent advertising
pre-emptive measures to block fraudulent adverts, delineated in this report. (Figure 5.)
such that burdens are not placed on consumers
12 TRACIT.ORGFigure 5 card details, scammers may
attempt to use multiple
different stolen cards before
finding one which allows
a payment transaction.
This behavior should be an
immediate red flag to any
website or platform which
hosts advertising to manually
review the legitimacy of the
advert and advertiser profile.
In addition to these voluntary
efforts by platforms to put in
place more effective “know-
your-business-customer”
measures, there are some
useful programs that could
be applied to better defend
platforms against fraudulent
advertising. These programs
draw on experience from
programs that address the
placement of “good” adverts
on “bad” websites, where
a legitimate company pays
While some progress is being made, platforms,
advertising revenues to operators of rogue sites.
notably Facebook and Instagram, are not
implementing sufficient verification of an Two examples are:
advertiser’s identify when they enter a commercial
• TAG (the Trustworthy Accountability Group)
advertising relationship with such platforms.
has a “Certified Against Fraud” certification
At the minimum, all platforms should program, by which actors in the advertising
be implementing measures at least supply chain can show they are taking action
equal to the system Google is putting against fraudulent, invalid ad traffic. The
in place. primary focus of this programs is to tackle
issues such as “click-fraud”, where automated
It should be incumbent on websites and social
computer programs mimic legitimate web
media platforms that offer and host advertising to
users to generate pay-per-click on an advert.
make simple checks such as these before accepting
Measures that could be applied to fraudulent
advertising. Doing so could be done manually
advertising include Payment ID system to
or, with appropriate software, automatically.
ensure payments track where payments
Further to this, proactive checks should be made
are going, lists identifying of common IP
into the behavior of the advertisers at the point
addresses from which it is unlikely to expect
of registering ads; for example, since many of
legitimate ad traffic, disclosure requirements
these adverts are registered using stolen credit
FRAUDULENT ADVERTISING ONLINE: EMERGING RISKS AND CONSUMER FRAUD 13for publishers to show how much traffic is However, the problem with fraudulent advertising
from paid sources, and a public record of is that the advertisements are of such professional
authorized digital sellers. quality that they easily deceive consumers, and
when they are directed to a site from an advert
• The EU MOU on Online Advertising and
on well-known and familiar website or app, they
Intellectual Property Rights aims to minimize
are more likely to regard the destination site as
the placement of legitimate adverts by IP
legitimate and trustworthy than if they had found
owners or other advertisers on websites
it via a search engine or accidentally. This places
which sell counterfeit goods or provide access
extra responsibility on sites that host and provide
to pirated content. While the MOU is non-
optimization for advertising and/or receive
binding, it suggests that signatories involved
payment for doing so.
in both the buying and selling of ad space
adopt IPR policies and use (or require the use
of) tools to prevent their advertising being
placed on IPR infringing sites.28 This MOU
could be extended to include measures to
defend platforms from fraudulent advertising.
Generally, consumers are becoming more aware
and experienced at avoiding rogue websites
that sell counterfeits and other fraudulent,
substandard, or unsafe products. EUROPOL, for
example, promotes Red Flags to help consumers
detect fraudulent websites.
14 TRACIT.ORGCONCLUSIONS
Given the findings of this report, there is a Facebook, Shopify, and PayPal profit from
systemic problem with the online advertising fraudulent ads, and make it very complicated
supply chain and an urgent need to improve to lodge complaints or get refunds. The group
controls over it. For starters, governments must offers to help people learn how to research a
begin the process of establishing guidelines and site and make sure that it is legit before buying
standards. Several examples already exist and products online.30
could be modified or expanded to include the
• Facebook (ProtectOthers) Ad Scams group
challenge of eliminating fraudulent advertising:
was created to alert people of the vast amount
• In the UK, new powers have been given to of scam ads that Facebook is allowing to
the communication watchdog Ofcom to force circulate. The group encourages people to
social media firms to act over harmful content, report fraudulent ads and warn others by
including violence, terrorism, cyber-bullying sharing the advert’s link to their page.31
and child abuse. Ofcom will have the power In the meantime, however, it is imperative that
to make tech firms responsible for protecting the websites and platforms which are making
people from such content, including ensuring revenue from the provision of advertising services
that the content is removed quickly and to to criminal networks take action to identify and
minimizing the risks of it appearing at all. block them – for good. By immediately adopting
• Germany introduced the NetzDG Law in 2018, best practices in “know your business customer”
which states that social media platforms with checks, platforms can mitigate against the risks
more than two million registered German right away. This problem is already at least five
users have to review and remove illegal years in the making, so it is imperative to address
content within 24 hours of being posted or the root causes that enable such profitable
face fines of up to €50 million. opportunities.
• Australia passed the Sharing of Abhorrent Consumers are entitled to an online browsing
Violent Material Act in April 2019, introducing and shopping experience that is safe and secure
criminal penalties for social media companies, from fraud. Online platforms connecting people
possible jail sentences for tech executives for and those that profit on commerce over their
up to three years and financial penalties worth sites should be responsible, comply with the law
up to 10% of a company's global turnover.29 and recognize the ethical/moral responsibility to
assure consumers a safe and trusted environment.
Some groups have been formed on Facebook to This paper suggests that the fraudulent online
help raise consumer awareness about fraudulent advertising can be considerably reduced by the
adverts: following measures:
• Facebook Ad Scambusters! was created to
1. Enhanced “Know Your Business
raise awareness of the many fraudulent ads
Customer” protocols
on Facebook. The group states that many of
these ads look legitimate and have professional It is imperative that websites and social media
videos, images etc. It also explains that platforms know who they are working with when
FRAUDULENT ADVERTISING ONLINE: EMERGING RISKS AND CONSUMER FRAUD 15accepting paid advertising. By gathering and advertising, all adverts published on a site or
verifying an appropriate amount of data on who platform should be reviewed for infringing
is utilizing their advertising services, they will be content, both algorithmically and where high
better able to risk has been flagged, manually. In addition, the
external sites to which such adverts link should
• assess risk levels and proactively identify bad also be reviewed to determine their legality and
actors authenticity.
• avoid recidivist infringing activity from
previously removed accounts
3. Effective reactive measures against
fraudulent advertisers
• provide data on infringers to affected
To act as an effective deterrent to illegal
consumers, rights holders, and law
advertising activities, sites and platforms must
enforcement
establish strong, effective, and enforced measures
Data collected could include individual/business against advertisers who have been found to
name and street address (proven with recognized infringe their terms of service. This should go
ID), phone number, email, and a proof of business beyond termination of the advertising agreement
registration. and include removal of the infringer’s account
For example, Facebook (and Instagram) could and blocking the advertiser from the website or
make it mandatory to participate in two-factor platform.
authentication for any profile or page. For For its part, Facebook is aware of the issue and
online shopping, and in particular sponsored recently pointed to its anti-counterfeiting tools
advertising, transparency and being able to and efforts. In a recent post, Facebook recognized
definitively attribute an advertiser is essential that the issue of fake goods is especially top-of-
for consumer trust and safety. This means being mind for advertisers in the lead up to the holiday
able to have confidence that whoever is selling season, and pledged that the company has “strict
a particular product or service can be identified, policies against counterfeit goods and other kinds
contacted, and held to account if things go wrong. of IP violations.”33 To prove that point, it revealed
Being proactive and socially responsible to ensure that in the first half of 2019, it removed 359,000
market integrity and that shoppers are safe pieces of content on Instagram in response to
should be standard to companies worth billions.32 39,200 counterfeit reports submitted by brand
Ultimately, when jointly targeted by sustained owners. Furthermore, it claimed to be investing
criminal activity, there should be a determined in machine learning and artificial intelligence “to
willingness to work together and hold those help block or reduce the distribution of potentially
ultimately responsible to account, and make counterfeit content on both Facebook and
it as difficult as possible for counterfeiters to Instagram.”34
continue to operate and infiltrate genuine buyer
4. Ensure consumers and rights holders
experiences.
can report and share information
2. Rigorous review of advertisement about fraudulent advertisers
prior to publication Until such time that advertising on websites
To ensure that their terms of service are being and social media platforms have a robust
adhered to, and that no innocent consumers system to prevent bad actors, there needs to be
are being defrauded by fraudulent, scam avenues for consumers and rights holders to
16 TRACIT.ORGshare information that can be used to dismantle
criminal networks currently operating on
their platforms. Currently, while adverts can
be reported and removed, platforms appear
unreceptive to receiving trends and data-sharing
initiatives that could assist them in blocking bad
actors accessing advertising.
5. Establish requirements for an
e-business license for advertisers
Such a license would require verification of (i)
financial disclosures that can be corroborated
by third parties (e.g., bank statements), and
(ii) physical location information that can be
supported by government records or trusted third
parties.35 Such a system could be accompanied
by a central registry ideally, managed by a highly
secure, disinterested party or industry group to
maintain the licenses.36
FRAUDULENT ADVERTISING ONLINE: EMERGING RISKS AND CONSUMER FRAUD 17NOTES
1
Azcuenaga, M. L. (1997). The Role of Advertising and which would tackle these adverts. In De Mol’s case on the
Advertising Regulation in the Free Market. Washington, other hand, Amsterdam district court ruled that Facebook
DC: Federal Trade Commission. Available at: https://www. must pay 10,000 euros each time fraudulent ads using the
ftc.gov/public-statements/1997/04/role-advertising-and- image of John de Mol appear, up to a maximum of 1 million
advertising-regulation-free-market euros. Sources: Klaassen, N. (2019, November 11). De Mol
wint van Facebook: bitcoin-vonnis zet platform voor het
2
US Department of Homeland Security. (2019). Combating
blok. AD. Available at: https://www.ad.nl/tech/de-mol-
Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods, https://www.
wint-van-facebook-bitcoin-vonnis-zet-platform-voor-het-
dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/20_0124_plcy_
blok~a72ebabb/ ; Proper, E. (2019, November 11). Facebook
counterfeit-pirated-goods-report_01.pdf, p24
Ordered to Ban Scam Ads Using Big Brother Founder.
3
Lince, T. (2020). Kasper VPN scam: YouTube urged to Bloomberg. Available at: https://www.bloomberg.com/
combat fraudulent ads featuring third-party brands. World news/articles/2019-11-11/facebook-ordered-to-ban-scam-
Trademark Review, 23 January 2020. Retreieved from: ads-using-big-brother-founder
https://www.worldtrademarkreview.com/kasper-vpn-scam- 11
International Chamber of Commerce. (2016) Available
youtube-urged-combat-fraudulent-ads-featuring-third-
at: https://iccwbo.org/media-wall/news-speeches/global-
party-brands
impacts-counterfeiting-piracy-reach-us4-2-trillion-2022/
Leskin, P. (2020, April 2). Scammers and grifters are
4
12
Statista. (2020). E-commerce share of total global retail
hawking face masks and fake coronavirus vaccines on
sales from 2015 to 2023. n.p.: Statista. Available at: https://
YouTube as the platform fails to moderate its content
www.statista.com/statistics/534123/e-commerce-share-of-
yet again. Business Insider. Available at: https://
retail-sales-worldwide/
www.businessinsider.com/youtube-videos-ads-face-
masks-coronavirus-vaccines-misinformation-content- Global Brand Counterfeiting Report 2018-2020. See
13
moderation-2020-4 https://apnews.com/ef15478fa38649b5ba29b434c8e87c94
5
13abc. (2020, April 15). Mother finds fake Facebook ad 14
US Department of Homeland Security. (2019). Combating
claiming her family died from coronavirus. 13abc. https:// Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods, https://www.
www.13abc.com/content/news/Mother-finds-fake-Facebook- dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/20_0124_plcy_
ad-claiming-her-family-died-from-coronavirus-569652591. counterfeit-pirated-goods-report_01.pdf
html 15
WIPO. (2017). The Environmentally Safe Disposal and
6
Screenshot captures of the identified fraudulent ads and the Destruction of Intellectual Property Infringing Goods.
destination websites are available upon request. Geneva: WIPO. Retrieved from: http://www.wipo.int/edocs/
mdocs/enforcement/en/wipo_ace_12/wipo_ace_12_3_ppt.
7
Primary research conducted by TRACIT and AAFA member
pdf
brands, Elipe Limited and unassociated brands (i.e., those
that supplied examples). 16
Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. (2018). Thinking of
buying a counterfeit product? Shame! n.p.: Federation of the
8
Mason, C. (2019, January 23). Martin Lewis settles lawsuit
Swiss Watch Industry. Accessed 16 October 2018. Available
as Facebook agrees to donate £3m to anti-scam charity
at: http://www.fhs.swiss/eng/buy_counterfeit.html
and launch new scam ads reporting button. Money Savings
Expert. Available at: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ 17
ITV. (2015, November 4). UK’s first Fake Shop reveals
news/2019/01/martin-lewis-drops-lawsuit-as-facebook- danger of counterfeit goods. ITV. Available at: http://www.
agreed-to-donate-p3m-to-a/ itv.com/news/westcountry/2015-11-04/rat-droppings-in-
cigarettes-and-urine-in-perfume-fake-shop-reveals-danger-
9
Sterling, T. (2019, June 5). Dutch ‘Big Brother’ creator sues
of-counterfeit-goods/
Facebook over fake Bitcoin ads. Reuters. Available at: https://
www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-ads-netherlands/ 18
Greenwood, C. (2015, May 17). Warning on fake make-
dutch-big-brother-creator-sues-facebook-over-fake-bitcoin- up tainted by CYANIDE and other dangerous chemicals:
ads-idUSKCN1T61N5 Counterfeit versions of leading brands are being cooked
up by criminals in squalid underground labs. Daily
10
In both of these cases, the affected parties took legal
Mail. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/
action against Facebook as the platform they were seeing
article-3085665/Warning-fake-make-tainted-cyanide-
the most adverts on. For Lewis, a settlement was reached
dangerous-chemicals-Counterfeit-versions-leading-brands-
in which Facebook agreed to launch a new scam reporting
cooked-criminals-squalid-underground-labs.html
tool for consumers in the UK and donate £3m to a project
18 TRACIT.ORGMarkMonitor. (2019). Global Consumer Survey Social
19 27
See https://www.facebook.com/business/help/2089495765
media: Insights into consumer shopping behaviour. n.p.: 50051?id=288762101909005
MarkMonitor. 28
European Commission. (2018). Memorandum of
20
Muncaster, P. (2017, September 26). Police: Buying Fake Understanding on online advertising and IPR. Brussels:
Goods Online Can Lead to ID Theft. Info Security. Avaialble European Commission. Retrieved from: https://ec.europa.eu/
at: https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/uk-police- growth/industry/policy/intellectual-property/enforcement/
buying-fake-goods-online/ memorandum-of-understanding-online-advertising-ipr_en
21
SOCTA. (2013). EU serious and organised crime threat 29
BBC. (2020, February 12). Regulator Ofcom to have more
assessment (SOCTA 2013). The Hague: European Police powers over UK social media. BBC. Available at: https://
Office. Available at: https://www.europol.europa.eu/ www.bbc.com/news/technology-51446665
activities-services/main-reports/eu-serious-and-organised- 30
See https://www.facebook.com/groups/stopfraudads/
crime-threat-assessment-socta-2013
31
See https://www.facebook.com/protectothers/
22
Research by the consumer rights and reviews organisation
which found that with just an email address, name, a few 32
Bradford, D. S. (2019, December 6). Facebook Ad Scams
stock images and a credit card, it is possible to have an Are Hitting Users Hard, What Can We Do? Buzzfeed. https://
advertising account up and potentially defrauding consumers www.buzzfeed.com/davidsbradford/facebook-ad-scams-are-
within 24 hours: Stanaway, C. (2019, June 27). How our hitting-users-hard-what-can-cbr58l7wiq?fbclid=IwAR1mRg
fake ‘scam’ ad breezed through Facebook’s approvals ZntRfZmqQqvhhmV4-9X3rwMnQqqer79bG0hiP3MVOMrxb
process. Which?. Avaialble at: https://www.which.co.uk/ S4jxEnng
news/2019/06/how-our-fake-scam-ad-breezed-through-
facebooks-approvals-process/
33
Facebook Business. (2019). Good Questions, Real Answers:
Protecting Brands Against Counterfeits. Available at: https://
23
Graham, M. (2020, April 23). Google will make all www.facebook.com/business/news/good-questions-real-
advertisers prove their identities, so people can see who they answers-how-facebook-helps-brands-protect-against-
are and which country they’re in. CNBC. Available at: https:// counterfeits/
www.cnbc.com/2020/04/23/google-advertiser-verification-
process-now-required.html Facebook for Business, at https://www.facebook.com/
34
business/news/good-questions-real-answers-how-facebook-
24
Google. (n.d.). Google Ads Help: Report an ad. helps-brands-protect-against-counterfeits
Accessed from: https://support.google.com/google-ads/
troubleshooter/4578507?hl=en
35
This recommended by the American Apparel and Footwear
Association (AAFA) in response to the US Memorandum on
25
Lince, T. (2020). Kasper VPN scam: YouTube urged to Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods.
combat fraudulent ads featuring third-party brands. World
Trademark Review, 23 January 2020. Retreieved from:
36
FINRA's Central Registration Depository could be a model
https://www.worldtrademarkreview.com/kasper-vpn-scam- for this.
youtube-urged-combat-fraudulent-ads-featuring-third-party-
brands
26
13abc. (2020, April 15). Mother finds fake Facebook ad
claiming her family died from coronavirus. 13abc. https://
www.13abc.com/content/news/Mother-finds-fake-Facebook-
ad-claiming-her-family-died-from-coronavirus-569652591.
html
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