"Click fraud is the latest problem plaguing the Internet, alongside spam, identity theft and online-auction fraud. Some believe about 20% of clicks are from people not necessarily interested in the product advertised, and therefore in the industry's view, fraudulent; others say the problem is less severe. What's clear is that if left unchecked, click fraud could damage the credibility of Google, Yahoo and the search-ad industry that spurred their meteoric growth.
Click fraud is "the biggest threat to the Internet economy," Google's chief financial officer, George Reyes, said during a December investors conference. "Something has to be done about this really, really quickly, because potentially it threatens our business model." In regulatory filings last month, search concern Ask Jeeves Inc., which recently agreed to be acquired by IAC/InterActiveCorp for $1.95 billion, said search-ad revenue might decline "if advertisers come to perceive click-fraud as a widespread and pervasive problem."
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