Google Clique Fraud

This is a fact of some years ago but it captured my imagination so I thought well to post it. During the last year I was very into Google Adsense and I tried all sort of (legal!) ways to pumpup my incomings... well... ehm... I still haven't bought a new car, no...

Michael Anthony Bradley

In 2004, California resident Michael Anthony Bradley created Google Clique, a software program that he claimed could let spammers defraud Google out of millions of dollars in fraudulent clicks.

Authorities said he was arrested while trying to blackmail Google for $150,000 to hand over the program, believed to be the first arrest for click fraud.

(from http://en.wikipedia.org)


Feds Arrest Alleged Google Extortionist

A California man is charged with attempting to extort money from Google to stop distribution of a software program that registers fraudulent AdSense clicks.

The U.S. Secret Service has arrested and charged a Southern California man for allegedly creating software code to register fraudulent clicks on Google's AdSense program and attempting to extort money from the search giant.

The case centers around a program called "Google Clique," which was allegedly written by 32-year-old Michael Anthony Bradley to surf and click on Web ads displayed by the Google AdSense program.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Bradley met secretly with Google's engineers in early March and attempted to extort $100,000 by threatening to release the program for widespread use by spammers.

(from http://www.internetnews.com)


Enter Miserable Failure into Google, and MichaelMoore.com is top.
Previously this Googlebomb was directed at George W. Bush.

Bradley created a method that generates false clicks that appeared to be real Internet traffic, which would have repeatedly defrauded Google.
(snip)
And He Bragged In Public, Too...

Apparently it’s the same bragging fraudster active in alt.internet.search-engines newsgroup thread Adsense Autoclick:

"Want auto click software? http://www.myhq.info/clique/
Google even called me to thier office, I flew up, met with them, and lets just say, they are scared and don’t want this software to get out, bottom line, I don’t care anymore."
– CountScubula (scantek@hotmail.com), 2004-03-12

(from http://blogoscoped.com)