Google restricts tech support ads, thanks to how bad many of them are

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Tech support scams are a problem on the internet, and Google is trying to stop people from getting tangled in them through their ads.

It’s decided to restrict ads by third-party technical support providers, as well as making these businesses verify themselves.

“As the fraudulent activity takes place off our platform, it’s increasingly difficult to separate the bad actors from the legitimate providers,” reads a post by Google’s director of global product policy, David Graff, on Friday.

“That’s why in the coming months, we will roll out a verification program to ensure that only legitimate providers of third-party tech support can use our platform to reach consumers.”

The announcement comes following a Wall Street Journal investigation on these scams. It included a particularly bad ad purporting to be from Apple, which appeared when one searched for the terms “apple tech support” on Google.

In this case, the ad showed a URL for Apple’s official website, but also displayed and linked to a phone number belonging to a tech support scammer.

A 2018 study by cited by the newspaper found that 72 percent of sponsored ads on major search engines related to tech support queries linked to scams.

Google has implemented verification checks to combat fraud other problematic categories, like locksmith services and addiction treatment centers. 

It’s also banned ads for payday loans, bail bonds services, and cryptocurrency or initial coin offering (ICO) related content.

While the move to restrict ads will certainly stop people from getting tricked via Google’s ads, tech support scams will continue to cause trouble through methods like cold-calling and intrusive pop-ups.