What are fake adverts and how can you recognise them? Let’s do a deep dive together!
Be Mindful of Fake Adverts in Google
You will probably already have heard of fake adverts in Google, or you may have even seen some yourself. Hopefully, you won’t have fallen victim to any. To avoid the risk of falling for them in the future, we’ve made a list with some useful tips to discern real adverts from the fake ones.
We have noticed a real jump in the number of fake adverts recently. And because Google doesn’t heed our repeated complaints, we want to warn you. This phenomenon is prevalent in urgent or emergency situations. Scammers take advantage of situations where anyone would be less attentive and prudent. If you have locked yourself out of your house, or your home suddenly smells like sewer, you obviously want to find a solution as soon as possible. But it’s in those moments that you need to be extra careful.
How Many Adverts Are Fake?
We looked into the actual scale of this phenomenon, with a focus on plumbers. And results are shocking.
In Antwerp, during our investigation, there were 27 businesses advertising for keywords related to plumbing. Of those 27 websites, 14 did not follow Google Ads regulations, and 8 were even fake. And what’s more, 4 out of the 5 most displayed ads, were fake businesses.
To prove that this is not a local, but a widespread issue, we conducted the same investigation in Ghent. And we got similar results. In Ghent, we found 24 businesses that were advertising for words related to plumbing, 8 of those did not follow Google Ads regulations, and 7 were fake. And out of the 5 most displayed ads, 2 businesses were fake.
Recognise Fake Adverts With These Useful Tips
With these four useful tips, you can discern real adverts from fake ones:
- VAT Identification Number
In Belgium, any business is obliged to have their VAT Identification Number clearly displayed on their website. If you can’t find the VAT number, this could be a sign that you’re dealing with a fraudulent business. But, if you’re not sure yet, you can look the name up in the Belgian VAT register. - V Address Details
Just like your VAT number, any business in Belgium must have their current address details on their website. No address to be found? Be careful of this company! - V Unknown Area Codes
Do you not recognise the area code of a company phone number? This is another sign that you might be dealing with a scammer. Be especially mindful of 085-numbers (free Dutch numbers). If you want to make sure you’re talking to an honest business, google the phone number, and if it pops up on multiple websites, you’re best off finding a different company. - V Reviews
Still not sure about the credibility of a company? These day, almost all businesses will have reviews on their website. Copy and paste one or a few of these reviews in Google, if they come up on other websites, you’re absolutely dealing with a scammer.
Relevant Excerpts From the Google Ads Policies
Prohibited practices:
Misrepresentation
We want ads across the Google Network to be useful, varied, relevant and safe for users. We don’t allow advertisers to run ads, content or destinations that attempt to trick or circumvent our ad review processes.
Below are some examples of what to avoid in your ads. […]
Examples of misrepresentation (non-exhaustive): Omitting or obscuring billing details such as how, what and when users will be charged; omitting or obscuring charges associated with financial services such as interest rates, fees, and penalties; failing to display tax or licence numbers, contact information or physical address where relevant; making offers that aren’t actually available; making misleading or unrealistic claims regarding weight loss or financial gain; collecting donations under false pretences; ‘phishing’ or falsely purporting to be a reputable company in order to get users to part with valuable personal or financial information
If you want, you can read the full Google Ads Policy here.
What Can You Do?
You can take action yourself. On this page, you can report suspicious activity with Google. The Federal Public Service Finance also has its own page where you can report fraudulent businesses.
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