[HN Gopher] Scamspotter.org - Google and Cybercrime Support Netw...
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Scamspotter.org - Google and Cybercrime Support Network Partnership
Author : jumarm
Score : 33 points
Date : 2021-11-19 15:52 UTC (7 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (scamspotter.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (scamspotter.org)
| counternotions wrote:
| Incredibly ironic that this is headlined by Google since they
| perpetuate most online scams through SEO and AdWords, where they
| refuse to investigate too deeply since it would negatively impact
| their quarterly financials.
| joe_the_user wrote:
| The thing with Google is, the search-based model for
| information finding itself is indeed what enables this but it's
| what enables the Internet itself. There is no index-based
| search engine that wouldn't be actively gamed by scammers.
| Scamming is so profitable that one can say 99% of the Internet
| "by flow" is fraud. And this results in Google being both the
| enabler of and the wall that stands against scamming. Any
| purely algorithmic approach to indexing obviously would be
| taken over. The problem of gaming scammers would exist whether
| you had Google or a competitive group of search engines. And
| this situation makes concentration natural since the engine
| that invests most in finding quality will return it most and so
| it will be preferred by consumers.
|
| And yes, Google itself is degenerating. I'm not sure what the
| solution is. The Internet has incubated such an economy for
| fraud, I imagine waking up and the whole thing will hacked.
| flerovium wrote:
| It's hard not to read "Cybercrime Support Network" as an org that
| supports cybercriminals.
| jbirer wrote:
| A website that provides emotional support for those whose fraud
| activities have not succeeded pushing them into depression.
| [deleted]
| chrisMyzel wrote:
| The much I dislike the G company they do a good job of
| highlighting how to make spotting a scam easy...it feels like
| first order principles to me...though it's a problem for many not
| so "internet natives".
| jumarm wrote:
| This seems like a new initiative between Google and the CSN to
| stop people from falling from scams that YouTubers like
| Kitboga[0] and Jim Browning[1] like to expose.
|
| The about page dives into the problem at hand:
| https://scamspotter.org/about
|
| [0]: https://www.youtube.com/c/KitbogaShow
|
| [1]: https://www.youtube.com/c/JimBrowning
| petee wrote:
| Meanwhile pushing more scams on YouTube themselves -- I report
| scam ad's once a day and most of them are back online within a
| week.
|
| The current ones are all targeting seniors offering "free"
| money from the CARES act.
| drekipus wrote:
| Google better be on the hero redemption path. This seems like a
| good move and could be using Google's powers for good?
| goatsi wrote:
| >If you get an unexpected phone call, hang up. Then look up the
| bank, agency or organization that's supposedly calling and get in
| touch directly.
|
| They should really add a warning here not to use Google for this
| unless they have an adblocker installed.
|
| https://www.tomshardware.com/news/phishing-for-crypto-half-a...
|
| https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/google-search...
| praash wrote:
| Wow, this takes Google's influence to a whole new level.
| praash wrote:
| This is a nice step for Google to promote scam awareness, but it
| shifts the responsibility to the victims.
|
| Google has an enormous role in enabling fraud and malware. They
| reap huge profits from malicious advertising and it's been a
| problem for more than a decade. Just about any fraud gets a good
| amount of exposure before a takedown.
|
| Google should do much more than slap their name on a campaign and
| tell users to take care.
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(page generated 2021-11-19 23:01 UTC)