Toronto (ECN) - Though the prosecution of online crimes is still, legally speaking, uncharted territory, that has not stopped Microsoft from launching the first documented case against "click fraud," one of the latest internet fraud schemes.
The technology company filed paperwork accusing Gordon Lam, Eric Lam, and Melanie Suen, among others, of manipulating Microsoft's pay-per-click advertising system to their own personal gain. The 75,000 dollar suit is the first of its kind, and it aims to hold people accountable for unethical online practices.
The lawsuit asserts that the three, who placed their own advertisement through Microsoft, exploited a loophole in the system. The advertising process through Microsoft is designed to promote websites through search engines, in which companies put in bids with Microsoft in exchange for their website to appear when consumers search for certain relevant phrases. The top advertising link to appear is from the company with the highest advertising contract. With each click on the link, the company then pays a certain amount back to Microsoft, according to their contract. This process continues until the company's advertising fund with Microsoft is spent, and then other links move to the top of the results.
Microsoft alleges that the three named in the suit devised a way to repetitiously click these advertising links, using up their competitors' advertising contracts, which meant that their own company moved up in rankings. When other advertisers realized they were being defrauded, Microsoft had to compensate them, and now wishes to be reimbursed for part of that cost.
