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Latest Web Nuisance: The Dreaded SCAD

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Aug 20, 2008 7:51 pm US/Eastern

Latest Web Nuisance: The Dreaded SCAD

Latest Deceptive Advertising Targets Online Shoppers

Reporting
Dana Tyler
NEW YORK (CBS) ― If you're in the midst of your back-to-school shopping, there's a new warning about deceptive advertising online. It's the latest Internet scam you need to know about before getting caught in what's called a "bait and click."

We all know how spam works but now there's another nuisance sweeping the net called a SCAD.

Here's how experts say it works. You log onto your favorite search engine, type in a name brand and up pop several ads that look just like regular Web sites. You click on one and proceed to shop, but what you don't know is the site you're on is in no way affiliated with the brand you want to buy. It's a so-called scam-ad or SCAD. It's designed to get you to give up your personal information.

"So it looks like Hilton, sounds like Hilton but really isn't?" Henry Watkins said. "Yeah, actually now I'm familiar with the concept but just didn't know the term."

Jarrod Agen is with the organization Alliance Against Bait and Click. He wants to educate consumers about the dangers of these SCADS.

"In the print, media world, in TV, you can't say come to McDonald's and give and address and then when you show up at the address it is Burger King," Agen said.

"To take either money from you or expose you to spyware or viruses."

Agen says because "truth in advertising" regulations don't apply on the Internet, deceptive ads run rampant. What's worse they actually bring in big bucks for the search engines they appear on.

"This is how they make their money," Agen said. "There was over $9 billion spent last year alone on search engine ads."

To avoid getting scammed Agen says click only on a brand or company's official Web site.

"If they see that consumers are smartening up and they are not clicking on these ads then they are generating a lot less money and hopefully will go away," Agen said.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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