Fake profiles on social networks and fake sites are used in the ecosystem of the bad guys to commit various forms of digital ad fraud.

1. Augustine Fou- 1 -
Fake Facebook Profiles
plagiarized or stock image

2. Augustine Fou- 2 -
Bot generated pages
on Facebook
using many of the same images and randomized content

3. Augustine Fou- 3 -
Fake LinkedIn Profiles
bot generated content
stock photo

4. Augustine Fou- 4 -
Non-Conforming Info
Email address
doesn’t relate
to name
Plagiarized
images

5. Augustine Fou- 5 -
Fake Twitter Accounts
Accounts with no picture, no followers, no tweets, and very recently created

6. Augustine Fou- 6 -
Screenshots of Fake Twitter
Accounts
Accounts with no picture, no followers, no tweets, and very recently created

7. Augustine Fou- 7 -
Fake YouTube Videos
http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=xnkM9RrDzhM
Banned Celebrity Sex Tapes
bannedsextapes .com

8. Augustine Fou- 8 -
Keyword Stuffed Videos
http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=upSOCzlSoHk
http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=lhbDGpqCmZQ
http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=UcdiM4uD6fM
http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=an6xRpQ5Wh8
Some carry ads to
generate ad revenue

9. Augustine Fou- 9 -
Fake Websites
Augustine Fou- 9 -
Characteristics
• Auto-generated by
bots, stuffed with
search keywords
• Attract organic
search traffic
• Not human
readable
• Stuffed with
affiliate links and
ads

10. Augustine Fou- 10 -
Plagiarized Content
Source:
Google search on entire phrase in
quotes:
http://bit.ly/16H9Gk5
6,530 google results

11. Augustine Fou- 11 -
Sites with Only Ads1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
• Pages are auto generated by script to
optimize for high value search
keywords and content
• 10 – 15 display ads per page plus text
ads and videos ads, in rotation
• Advertisers should minimize ad dollars
spent on impression (CPM) basis and
focus on paying only when they get the
click (CPC)
• They also auto-refresh pages to load
another 10 – 15 ads
• Many other examples of display ads
shown next to unsavory content
Source: http://www.satelliteguys.us/archive/t-232266.html

12. Augustine Fou- 12 -
Fake Websites
• No content or
content that is
assembled (i.e.
plagiarized)
• Content not
human readable
• Stuffed with large
numbers of ads
• Page auto-reloads
• Large abrupt
traffic changes

13. Augustine Fou- 13 -
Fake Sweepstakes
Augustine Fou- 13 -
Users enter email address
and other personal info to
enter sweepstakes.

14. Augustine Fou- 14 -
Dr. Augustine Fou – Digital Consigliere
“I study digital ad fraud in order to
educate my clients and help them avoid
getting ripped off. Once the „low hanging
fruit‟is taken care of then they can move
on to the work of optimization.”
FORMER CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, HCG (OMNICOM)
MCKINSEY CONSULTANT
CLIENT SIDE / AGENCY SIDE EXPERIENCE
PROFESSOR AND COLUMNIST
ENTREPRENEUR / SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
PHD MATERIALS SCIENCE (MIT '95) AT AGE 23
@acfou
ClickZ Articles: http://bit.ly/augustine-fou-clickz
Slideshares: http://bit.ly/augustine-fou-slideshares
LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/augustinefou

15. Augustine Fou- 15 -
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Augustine Fou