Class action lawsuit against Google over adwords phishing site scam

[Mikerogers]

Taken from Reddit:

"We're scheduled to go into further discussion this Tuesday, but I'll summarize what the class action is about below.

As of this post, there remains to be a Google adwords advertisement that's shown to the public. Unfortunately, this advertisement is a cover up phishing site, which has stolen money from myself and possible others. Now, I don't know the full extent of theft that occurred as it applies to others, but I myself have lost a worthy sum due to this phishing site.

It is Google's responsibility to provide safe advertisements for the public, and this isn't the first time they've defrauded the public. In 2011, a similar situation occurred where advertisements for drugs were being sold that were not suitable for people and Google paid out 500M.

I'm aware that Google is currently facing a class action suit for its adsense program, where they allegedly stole funds from publishers a few days before their payout period. That class action shouldn't interfere with the one we plan to launch.

I've read reports right here on this subreddit of people being affected by this phishing ad, so I do believe that I'm not the only one who's been affected.

I'm planning on posting a follow up on the details of this civil action after Tuesday, when I speak with the designated attorneys. Hopefully they'll comply and go forward with this, if not I'll find people who will. I'm not giving up on this, not anytime soon."

Anyone plan on joining this if the case is taken by attorneys? If you weren't aware, there's a google ad that imitates blockchain's wallet, and when you put your info in.... well you know how phishing sites work.

I have a few questions myself:

How can anyone check how many bitcoins we lost? Couldn't someone lie about how much they lost?

How can anyone check if the person who says they got affected really did?

It's obvious that negligence occurred on Google's side, how much would a possible settlement go for?

[bigasic]

Good luck with your lawsuit. But, since Google didn't post the ad, I dont see how they would be liable. Unless, of course, they were notified of the phishing site and did nothing, then they would be at fault, I believe.

This is a good reminder to not click on links. to look at the link and know what the original should say.

proving if google had been notified of the phishing site might be hard to prove..

Good luck, anyways..

Here is the link to report phishing sites to Google.  http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/report_phish/

Also, if you want to read about the 500 million dollar settlement they had to pay, here it is.. http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/behind-googles-500-million-settlement-with-u-s/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

They basically broke the law and let canadian pharmacies advertise pharmaceuticals. That, to me, is a no brainer..

[pedrog]

Are there so many stupid people that have fallen in this to make a class action lawsuit?

And is the class "stupid people who don't use 2-factor authentication"? 

[railzand]

I've seen around five threads on this subject. You need to use er Google to search for them. One of the first was iirc by escrow.ms or some other bigwig, who gave the links to report such things, so it probably was reported early on.

You can use blockchain analysis to make sure people don't inflate their claims.

This wouldn't be a huge claim as the rich don't fall for scams like this. But it would be nice to call them to account.

Oh and mind what you say

[Ron~Popeil]

Get a good attorney and be ready to spend a lot if you pursue this. Google will have the best legal team they can buy. 

[hilariousandco]

Most of the people claiming to file class action lawsuits are probably scammers themselves hoping to get some donations off angry people who lost money to try take down google.

Are there so many stupid people that have fallen in this to make a class action lawsuit?

And is the class "stupid people who don't use 2-factor authentication"? 

Exactly. I'll never understand why people don't take advantage of all the security features. Blockchain.info would probably be safer than having a desktop wallet for these idiots if they did and backed up their wallet safely.

[Paladin69]

I'm glad somebody is doing this.  Not sure where it will go, but Google should be liable since they recently changed their webpage layout and confused people.  The top ad links now look like Google search links.

Be careful and make sure you don't click anything that has the tiny ad symbol for the first few links.

It's easy to catch, but a lot of people are getting trojans because their first time noticing this is unexpected.

[Ilsk]

It's difficult to win a lawsuit against google but good luck.

[bryant.coleman]

First we should collect details from people who have lost their coins in this scam. Hundreds (may be thousands) of users have lost their coins, but only a few have posted about their experience here in Bitcointalk.

[franky1]

Most of the people claiming to file class action lawsuits are probably scammers themselves hoping to get some donations off angry people who lost money to try take down google.

98% this ^

2%:
if genuinely at loss due to a phishing scam yourself. keep this in mind before you even start
have you got undeniable proof that a phishing report was sent to google warning them of this site and a 'fair' amount of time to process the removal was given after the report was made... BEFORE you then searched google and then were led to the scam.

you only have a case against google, well atleast a slim chance, if you can prove retrospectively that google knew of the scam, had time to deal with it, but were negligent.

in short
1. if you can prove WHEN the phishing site became actively advertised on google
2. if you can prove WHEN google received a phishing report
3. if you can prove WHEN an IP not belonging to you accessed blockchain.info (reasonable time AFTER 1&2)
4. if you can prove Google ignored the phish report (no removal after reasonable processing time)
5. if you can prove Google made revenue from the phishing advert (profited from illegal activity)

then you have a slim chance against their well versed lawyers

[Yakamoto]

Most of the people claiming to file class action lawsuits are probably scammers themselves hoping to get some donations off angry people who lost money to try take down google.

98% this ^

2%:
if genuinely at loss due to a phishing scam yourself. keep this in mind before you even start
have you got undeniable proof that a phishing report was sent to google warning them of this site and a 'fair' amount of time to process the removal was given after the report was made... BEFORE you then searched google and then were led to the scam.

you only have a case against google, well atleast a slim chance, if you can prove retrospectively that google knew of the scam, had time to deal with it, but were negligent.

in short
1. if you can prove WHEN the phishing site became actively advertised on google
2. if you can prove WHEN google received a phishing report
3. if you can prove WHEN an IP not belonging to you accessed blockchain.info (reasonable time AFTER 1&2)
4. if you can prove Google ignored the phish report (no removal after reasonable processing time)
5. if you can prove Google made revenue from the phishing advert (profited from illegal activity)

then you have a slim chance against their well versed lawyers

Agreed.

But my question is; did the ad install a keylogger, or did you put your info in?

If you put your own info in, then you're the one at fault.

[franky1]

in short
1. if you can prove WHEN the phishing site became actively advertised on google
2. if you can prove WHEN google received a phishing report
3. if you can prove WHEN an IP not belonging to you accessed blockchain.info (reasonable time AFTER 1&2)
4. if you can prove Google ignored the phish report (no removal after reasonable processing time)
5. if you can prove Google made revenue from the phishing advert (profited from illegal activity)
then you have a slim chance against their well versed lawyers

Agreed.

But my question is; did the ad install a keylogger, or did you put your info in?

If you put your own info in, then you're the one at fault.

googles defense is that they cannot be held liable for content of other peoples website
googles defense is that they cannot be held liable for actions of users or the neglect of users.

this means if someone did not see the address bar was not truly spelled correctly. then that is the fault of the user
this means if someone went to a website and done something. whether its hand over funds, hand over log in details, or download a program/virus, its a users fault.

the only defense (weak defense without good lawyer) is that google knew of the thread, had time to deal with the threat, but don nothing to help avoid "the user from making a mistake" - yes thats right its still a user mistake, but google didnt lessen the risk of users being dumb

[Yakamoto]

in short
1. if you can prove WHEN the phishing site became actively advertised on google
2. if you can prove WHEN google received a phishing report
3. if you can prove WHEN an IP not belonging to you accessed blockchain.info (reasonable time AFTER 1&2)
4. if you can prove Google ignored the phish report (no removal after reasonable processing time)
5. if you can prove Google made revenue from the phishing advert (profited from illegal activity)
then you have a slim chance against their well versed lawyers

Agreed.

But my question is; did the ad install a keylogger, or did you put your info in?

If you put your own info in, then you're the one at fault.

googles defense is that they cannot be held liable for content of other peoples website
googles defense is that they cannot be held liable for actions of users or the neglect of users.

this means if someone did not see the address bar was not truly spelled correctly. then that is the fault of the user
this means if someone went to a website and done something. whether its hand over funds, hand over log in details, or download a program/virus, its a users fault.

the only defense (weak defense without good lawyer) is that google knew of the thread, had time to deal with the threat, but don nothing to help avoid "the user from making a mistake" - yes thats right its still a user mistake, but google didnt lessen the risk of users being dumb

I am more interested in asking if it was a keylogger as opposed to all the legal info.

[franky1]

phishing sites dont need keyloggers because they have a fake login template people type their usernames and passwords into. which the scammers save the login attempts. and then at same time they API forward the details to the real site, so that the person is also logging into real site before they realise the login page was fake.

keyloggers are normally found in a few fake mining programs, defunct altcoins and bitcoin clients that are not sourced from genuine and verified sources.

so when the OP mentions phishing site, im thinking 99% sure its a fake login page without any download of keylogger

[twistyfy]

Taken from Reddit:

"We're scheduled to go into further discussion this Tuesday, but I'll summarize what the class action is about below.

As of this post, there remains to be a Google adwords advertisement that's shown to the public. Unfortunately, this advertisement is a cover up phishing site, which has stolen money from myself and possible others. Now, I don't know the full extent of theft that occurred as it applies to others, but I myself have lost a worthy sum due to this phishing site.

It is Google's responsibility to provide safe advertisements for the public, and this isn't the first time they've defrauded the public. In 2011, a similar situation occurred where advertisements for drugs were being sold that were not suitable for people and Google paid out 500M.

I'm aware that Google is currently facing a class action suit for its adsense program, where they allegedly stole funds from publishers a few days before their payout period. That class action shouldn't interfere with the one we plan to launch.

I've read reports right here on this subreddit of people being affected by this phishing ad, so I do believe that I'm not the only one who's been affected.

I'm planning on posting a follow up on the details of this civil action after Tuesday, when I speak with the designated attorneys. Hopefully they'll comply and go forward with this, if not I'll find people who will. I'm not giving up on this, not anytime soon."

Anyone plan on joining this if the case is taken by attorneys? If you weren't aware, there's a google ad that imitates blockchain's wallet, and when you put your info in.... well you know how phishing sites work.

I have a few questions myself:

How can anyone check how many bitcoins we lost? Couldn't someone lie about how much they lost?

How can anyone check if the person who says they got affected really did?

It's obvious that negligence occurred on Google's side, how much would a possible settlement go for?

I feel like anyone facing Google is going to lose. They're going to have the best attorneys money can buy.

[lihuajkl]

Warning for us. Before signing in to your account, you must watch the web page carefully. The address on the top of browers is spelled correctedly. the design and layout of page is same as usual. If you find any suspicious change, you should not enter your account detail in the page. One thing is important not to click any links sent by strange people.

[xushimsqem02241]

Taken from Reddit:

"We're scheduled to go into further discussion this Tuesday, but I'll summarize what the class action is about below.

As of this post, there remains to be a Google adwords advertisement that's shown to the public. Unfortunately, this advertisement is a cover up phishing site, which has stolen money from myself and possible others. Now, I don't know the full extent of theft that occurred as it applies to others, but I myself have lost a worthy sum due to this phishing site.

It is Google's responsibility to provide safe advertisements for the public, and this isn't the first time they've defrauded the public. In 2011, a similar situation occurred where advertisements for drugs were being sold that were not suitable for people and Google paid out 500M.

I'm aware that Google is currently facing a class action suit for its adsense program, where they allegedly stole funds from publishers a few days before their payout period. That class action shouldn't interfere with the one we plan to launch.

I've read reports right here on this subreddit of people being affected by this phishing ad, so I do believe that I'm not the only one who's been affected.

I'm planning on posting a follow up on the details of this civil action after Tuesday, when I speak with the designated attorneys. Hopefully they'll comply and go forward with this, if not I'll find people who will. I'm not giving up on this, not anytime soon."

Anyone plan on joining this if the case is taken by attorneys? If you weren't aware, there's a google ad that imitates blockchain's wallet, and when you put your info in.... well you know how phishing sites work.

I have a few questions myself:

How can anyone check how many bitcoins we lost? Couldn't someone lie about how much they lost?

How can anyone check if the person who says they got affected really did?

It's obvious that negligence occurred on Google's side, how much would a possible settlement go for?

If the launch, I will participate in.Keep up the good work

[shiwendttxf6860]

I will keep the project active.

[waldox]

Quick Fast Bitcoin Wallet
at www.Blockchain.info.tk/Wallet
Load your bitcoin life savings here its perfectly safe

*Sarcasm

[franky1]

whats with the influx of users with:
10 random alphabet characters followed by a random number between 0and 99999
all registered on the 19th of april.

shiwendttxf6860 - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=317391
xushimsqem02241 - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=317365
xumeijklkz89911 - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=317362
haojiuruwui8849 - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=317349
huanfucitry5221 - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=317402
guanyikclkv8593 - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=317345
lexingyvvf14961 - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=317359
zhenshilzvpf050 - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=317347
shixiandcseu458 - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=317350
gebappwbf933556 - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=317355