Microsoft Launch $750,000 Damages Claim

Three Canadian residents have been accused of breaching Microsoft adCenter’s contract by running a click fraud scheme. The three were believed to have been assisted by others who have to date remained un-named.

Tim Cranton who runs the Microsoft’s Internet Safety Enforcement Team has explained how it is not only traditional cyber crime they are have to tackle but, also threats to the online advertising community. In his blog post Tim Cranton clarifies how the Enforcement Team plays a “critical safety role” and as the threats grow so too will his team.

Beginning their investigation back in March of 2008 Microsoft compiled evidence for their claim by monitoring the suspicious activity on the site. The claim was filed on 15^th June 2009 at the US District Court for the Western District of Washington.

The purpose of using law suits and criminal prosecutions is ” to stop the most egregious violators and hold them accountable for the fraud they commit.” With online advertising being a major contributor to the US Economy this will no doubt be an interesting case to watch.

4Ps Marketing has a very strong ethical policy ensuring anything close to the above would never occur. Obviously the above story is very extreme but it does highlight the need for ethical SEM, ethical SEO & ethical PPC.

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