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Hackers Target PPC Accounts Now, Too

Spammers don't just want to set up their own made-for-AdSense sites or PII-stealing Yahoo Search Marketing ads--they want to use your account to run scams too. Whether they burrow into your PPC account and set up stealth campaigns that you don't notice, or go all-out and dump ridiculously high cost keywords in, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the goal is the same--to get you to pay for their clicks.

Greg Laptevsky lists some steps you can take to prevent that from happening, as well as what to do if you get scammed. "Run keywords weekly and look beyond the first page," Laptevsky says, as "many advertisers tend to ignore keywords that are not in their top 50 list." Run reports to see if there are any unfamiliar ads in your account, and keep track of your average spend to see if there's an unnatural spike. And always change your passwords each month.

If your account does get hacked, notify your contact at the search engine immediately. They'll investigate and get back to you with a resolution. "Be sure to stay on top of all requests from the engine's support teams and promptly respond to all messages," Laptevsky says. "After all, it's your fault somebody hijacked your pay-per-click account."

Read the whole story at Practical eCommerce »

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