The Adult Webmaster

Logged into my Google Adwords account this morning to find a shocking situation unfolding.

Apparently someone was able to crack into my account 2 days ago and set up a rogue ad campaign. The campaign they started was focused on “extagen” keywords and had a daily spend limit of $900! The max CPC was set at $100 on each keyword! Over the course of 2 days they were able to run up $490 in ad clicks (39 clicks total).

I immediately paused the campaign, then changed my password in Google Accounts. Then I sent an email to Google support, informing them of my compromised account situation.

I then checked out the link that the hacker had been sending all of the clicks to - xhttp://www.extagenshop.com … apparently he was just using this domain to iframe his sponsor xhttp://www.extagencapsules.com/a/alexdesign9 … so I went to the sponsors contact page and reported this rogue affiliate to them.

After contacting the two parties who profited off this, I then logged back into my adwords account and noticed that the campaign had been un-paused. Thoughts of keystroke loggers danced through my head as I imagined that was the only way someone could get my password so quickly. I then realized there was another one of my Google account with access to my adwords account, so I went and changed the password for it as well.

When I came back to my adwords campaign summary page I noticed that every one of my adwords campaigns had been “deleted.” The way adwords works though, even a deleted campaign is still completely visible, so no data is lost. I checked out the rogue campaign again and noticed that the hacker had apparently changed his destination URL as to cover his tracks to some degree. Then I checked out his domain again, only to find a completly blank slate… no html, no iframe, nada. This being at the most, 10 minutes after I made my initial reports.

Whenever you handle your business online, you are bound to run into scammers. The net is flooded with everything from fly-by-night small timers to methodical predators, nobody is 100% safe from getting scammed.

Every time you exchange services online, you need to be paranoid. Even a longtime associate could cut and run on you.

While being blind sided by a friend is nearly impossible to forsee, online acquaintances should always be researched before any transfers are made. Make sure you google all personal names, business names, etc., prior to handing your money over to anyone. If you are doing business through a messageboard, see if anyone with credibility can vouch for that person. I have seen so many people scammed out of money online that it has become obvious, there are individuals who have turned deception into a profession.

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Related Sites: ScamBusters | Scam.com | Make Money Fast Hall of Humiliation