Suspicious sites and what to look for
We're always sorry to hear when a site misrepresents its products or treats individuals unethically. As you may know, Google is a reflection of the Web. Although we aggregate and organize content published on the Web, we don't control the content itself, and it's our policy not to police content. Rather, by including as much information as possible in our results, we hope that you'll be able to easily find warnings about rogue sites.
Here are a few specific schemes that we know of that you should watch out for (updated September 2009):
- Fake news stories about making money using Google
Look out for sites that look like news stories or blog posts about ways to make money on Google. The sites often look very similar to real online news sites. The rule of thumb is that if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Here are some common signs that the site you're on isn't legitimate:- You don't recognize the name of the news source. Or you do, but it's off by a letter or two. Big news outlets rarely misspell their own names.
- You got to the site by clicking a link in an unsolicited email or an ad.
We know it's not always easy to tell, so we've posted some more information on the Official Google Blog and in the Web Search Help Forum.
- Fake reviews of money-making programs
Watch out for sites that claim to evaluate money-making programs, but in reality just link to scams. Detecting these sites can be especially tricky, because they claim to help you avoid scams. Here's what to look out for on these sites:- Just a few reviews, all of them positive. (Real review sites will usually include negative reviews.)
- An option to "sign up now."
- A section with user comments, but no place for you to leave a comment.
- Make-money-fast sites
Sites offering 'fast cash with Google' or a 'Google success kit' that promise a quick buck if you join their schemes or pay for their 'online kits' have nothing to do with Google. Users tell us that their services involve a lot of hidden charges. Again, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. - Google lottery
Users have told us about a common email scam in which they're told they've won a 'Google lottery' or other award. Sorry -- there's no Google lottery. - Sites that appear to be, but aren't, affiliated with Google or other recognizable brands
Look out for disclaimers at the bottom of the page using variations of the language 'GOOGLE is a registered trademark of Google, Inc. We are not a partner, affiliate, or licensee of Google Inc., nor is our company in any other way formally associated with Google Inc.'
Report sites that use the Google trademark inappropriately
If you think a site is using the Google trademark or logo for fraudulent purposes, please let us know.
Reporting a sponsored link
If the site in question appeared as a sponsored link on the Google search results page, please report the site through the AdWords Help Center. Search results display on the left side of our results page; sponsored links appear on the right and in the colored box at the top.
Additional steps you can take
Regardless of where a suspicious site appeared, you can take action by alerting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business practices. To file a complaint, visit http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/contact.shtm, call 1-877-FTC-HELP, or write to the following address:
Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240
Washington, D.C. 20580
You may also consider filing a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
If your complaint is against a company in a country other than the United States, you can file it at http://www.econsumer.gov/
We appreciate your diligence in reporting your experience and believe it will provide a better experience for everyone. You can help your fellow users by posting a warning about suspicious sites using the Google brand in the Web Search Help Forum. We rely on users to exercise good judgment and educate each other about Internet fraud due to the sheer number of scam sites and the number of Internet users falling prey to fraud.
