• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, December 5, 2024

This year, scammers have ventured deeper into financial institutions. The brokerage house will remain nameless, but when I searched on a financial institution’s name and a list of Sponsored Ads appeared, I clicked on the link to access my account. The first thing I thought of after the experience was, where is the AI to stop this type of scam?

When I typed in my password, I noticed the two-step authentication process didn't work, and a notice immediately appeared on a web page that looked almost exactly like the financial institution’s web page. I cannot say for sure whether the Sponsored Ad redirected my click or whether was a completely a scam ad. 

The fake web page had a notice on it that my account had been locked, and provided a 1-800 number to call in order to unlock it. I called the number and when a person answered the phone without identifying the financial institution, I asked why he didn't identify himself, but instead answered the phone by saying "customer support." He said, I told you I'm in customer support. That's when I hung up. 

I try never to click on Sponsored Ads, but this time for some reason I did. When I do click, I read the URL beforehand.

I cannot replicate the ad to provide a snapshot in this warning, but beware -- these ads are out there.

With the help of a Google media relations person I went back into my history of URLs visited and found the link, but the link was dead. 

Google blocked more than 1.2 billion ads last year due to misrepresentation, scams, and malware. Scammers are constantly devising new ways to turn casual shoppers' clicks into financial gain, according to Norton VPN.

Scammers increasingly use advertisements to target distracted customers. This time of year, they frequently run ads that create a sense of urgency by presenting offers as "limited-time deals" and bolstering them with fake reviews and endorsements. Last year, NordVPN’s research revealed that 40% of Americans and 27% of Canadians were scammed while shopping online.

In a warning from NordVPN, scammers are tricking users with interactive ads that include games, quizzes, and apps. They take advantage of interactive elements to surprise people, pulling them into activities that seem fun and safe.

Shopping impulses also pull in users to scams. Some 4.9% of the global adult population is estimated to have a shopping addiction, with more than half of online purchases made impulsively. About 95% of Americans make impulsive purchases in physical stores, but 88.6% do so online.

The data suggests men are more prone to daily impulsive online shopping at 11.0%, compared to women at 4.8%. However, during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, 22% of women consistently make impulsive purchases, compared to 17% of men.

Google has strict restrictions on financial services ads, but this shouldn't happen at all -- especially with available technology like artificial intelligence. 

In 2021, Google launched a financial services certification program to create an added layer of protection for users, according to the Google spokesperson who provided me with this information.

What good are strict rules if they don't work -- even with the company "developing new tools and policies that help better protect the people who use our products and our advertising partners from bad actors."

Under Google's financial services certification program, financial services advertisers are required to demonstrate that they are authorized by the relevant national financial services regulator in their country and then complete Google’s verification program. 

The ad that led to the web page I discovered did not come from a financial institution. I'm pretty sure it was set up as a scam from a phisher.

The financial institution took note of my experience and helped me change passwords and set up additional safeguards. It's do important for companies to get search engines, ad platforms, and others to increase security as more people shop and relay on digital every day.