How I got paid $250 for reporting an Adsense Cheater!

Let me tell you a story about karma and how I made $250 by reporting an Adsense cheater...

It started when I came upon a web site where some kid was blatantly breaking the rules by asking his buddies to click on his Adsense ads.

This has got to be one of my biggest pet peeves! Why do people think they can break the rules at the expense of other peoples' AdWords budgets?

So I did what a lot of people do... I contacted Google!

I figured Google would shut this punk down immediately. Boy was I wrong!

Every time I went back to this kid's web site the message asking his friends to click the ads were still there! This went on for a few weeks and I really started to get ticked off at the lack of response on Google's part.

So I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I used this software I created called "Google Sponsor Lister" (You can get it at AdsenseSchool.com) to find every sponsor who was targeting this kid's niche.

I contacted each sponsor directly and told them there was a chance their ads were being displayed on a cheater's site. I figured if THEY complained to Google, something would happen!

Well I guess I was right! One of the sponsors emailed me back two days later and said:

"I want to thank you for pointing out the kids
clicking on my ads. I turned it over to my Google
rep, and he called today to let me know Google is
disabling their account. Also, he said Google is
crediting me a decent amount for fraudulent clicks
over the last quarter. What's your address? I'd like
to send you a little thank you gift."

How awesome is that? I was so excited! Not because he was going to send me a "thank you gift"... but because I figured out how to get that punk's shut down!

It's funny how Google shut this kid down in TWO DAYS because a sponsor contacted them but when I had been trying for weeks, nothing happened. Makes you think...

Anyway... I told him he didn't have to thank me and he definitely didn't need to send me a gift. I was just happy to know I saved him a couple bucks and this punk got his account canceled.

He replied with the following...

"Thanks again. I actually spend several hundred
thousand dollars a month on Google, so at least they
responded to me quickly. Also, the rebate they gave
me was fairly substantial (several thousand). I'd
really like to buy you an Amazon gift certificate or
an iPod or something if you'd like to tell me how to
send it to you, because I don't think I would have
been proactive about this if you hadn't contacted me.
Either way, it's great that you're being a good
samaritan."

SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS? I thought I saved him a couple bucks at most!

I was floored when I read that because I knew Adsense cheaters hurt sponsors but I never thought it was that bad!

So I told him if he REALLY wanted to send me an iPod or an Amazon gift certificate, I wouldn't stop him!

He ended up sending me an Amazon.com gift certificate worth $250!

I think this teaches us a couple important lessons...

First, telling Google about Adsense cheaters is fruitless... but informing the sponsors, and asking them to contact Google, works immediately!

And second, ripping off AdWords sponsors is big business. Don't think for a second it's a victimless crime!

Oh and now I'm a true believer in Karma!

Maybe you won't make $250... but at the very least you'll help get rid of another Adsense theif and save a business owner some money!

 

U seems like promoting your software more than it's for real.

 

Here's a screen shot of the gift certificate...

 

If you do this, make certain that you are not an AdSense publisher.

Quoting from the AdSense Publisher Terms and Conditions:

 

Yeah, the important part is... "in connection with Your Site(s)"

It's not in connection with YOUR site.

That rule has more to do with them not wanting you to contact the sponsors and tell them they can advertise on your site directly.

At least that's how I read it. Contact Google if you're unsure.

 

Nate,

Nice story but by emailing to the advertisers directly you probably forced some of them to reconsider and drop using AdWords altogether. I imagine some of those were shocked to learn that Google would allow something like this (click fraud) to happen. Personally, I'd wait for Google's answer and contact them again after a few days.

Spend your gift cert well

 

I'm not so sure about this. Will has mentioned one potential TOS violation and I wonder if contacting publishers might be an issue too.

What exactly does this tool do?

 

Wait. You mean you found a scammer by software you invented, and that you are now selling. And you bolster the claim by saying that you received a gift certificate because of the advertiser you contacted?

That's what I like to hear - 3rd party testimonials

 

I doubt any of them quit AdWords altogether.

If you're making a profit with AdWords, you're not going to quit because someone points out 1 Adsense cheater.

At least, you wouldn't if you were a smart bussiness person.

Also, I did contact Google... multiple times... over the course of a couple weeks. I got no reply from them.

Other people on this forum have had the same problem with contacting Google about Adsense cheaters...

 

Sorry... not trying to promote some tool I created. I thought you guys would find this information useful.

Also, I didn't find the cheater with the tool. The tool lists all sponsors for whatever term you put in.

 

Nate - Can you explain exactly what the tool does..I am trying to keep an open mind but there are a lot of potential issues with doing this on a regular basis.

I am all for people abusing the system getting caught but there are legal issues involved (I think depending on what the tool does)

 

I found it useful, thanks.

 

The point wasn't "I have a tool that made me $250!"

You can do the same thing without the tool. Just contact the 4 sponsors advertising on that cheaters site. I just went a little further and contacted every sponsor who potentially could have their ads show up on that kids page.

If you're worried about Google banning your account for doing this, which is a stretch to say the least, just contact the sponsors anonymously with a hotmail account.

You wouldn't even have to do this if Google would just listen to you in the first place. Apparently they only stop Adsense cheaters when the sponsors complain.

 

I thought the ads that appeared on cheaters site will be different everytime and by geography? Like that you can get a lot of $250!

 

This would be worst money I ever ever earn in my life..

Let we say that what You did is what really happend. Man send you a gift. He insisted on that, but what is more interested is that you patrol on that site for a days, weeks.. And finally you do everything by yourself. Google didnt respond, but you become google`s squad. More of Google.

LOL, Iam gonna chek every single page on my web sites. I dont wanna to someone like you fix look on them.

I said once here in forum: this is like Iam watching Survival..

 

You have an eroor.
its a 3rd party unbias testimonial

 

I think you somehow misunderstood the meaning of KARMA.

 

I am not clear.. Is the software something the original poster is advertising, or is it someone else's tool unrelated to them.

Regardless, contacting advertisers directly is against the TOS and this would be walking a fairly thin line if you did it against someone else's site.

 

good read, i know google doesn't pay attention to this kind of reports :/

 

I'd suggest reading the post again.

Yes it's his own tool but it doesn't matter whether he's advertising it or not (to me at least, we all pitch our own stuff here). And no it's not against the TOS if you're not an AdSense publisher or they're not the advertisers appearing on your site. Hence the 'Your site(s)' in the TOS.