Click Fraud

What is Click Fraud?

Click fraud refers to a form of internet misconduct where a person or computer program clicks on an internet advertisement either solely to hurt a competitor or solely to generate pay-per-click revenue for the fraudulent clicker (and not out of interest in the advertised goods or services).

Our experience in conducting forensic investigations serves us well in click fraud disputes. Contact us today if you have a click fraud dispute.

For example, a company can impose significant costs on a competitor by clicking on the competitor’s PPC advertisements in search engines over and over again. In these situations, an advertiser or search engine may rely on principles of unfair competition law, interference law, and trespass law as legal avenues for recourse against perpetrators.

Signs of Click Fraud

• Low website engagement (such as a high bounce rate) despite a spike in clicks
• Invalid clicks tracked via publishers intentionally inflating your PPC costs
• Significant increase in clicks from the same IP address, device/browser fingerprint or
• Significant increase in clicks in the same small geographic area spaced every few minutes or hours

Advertiser Click Fraud Investigation

In pay-per-click advertising, advertisers pay search companies each time a user clicks on an ad displayed by the search company. Publishers who run websites may display these ads, in return for a portion of the pay-per-click revenue. One form of click fraud occurs when the website owner clicks on the ads displayed on his or her own website. The owner of the website can generate significant revenue through this misconduct. In this situation, the website owner has typically breached the contract with the search company displaying the ads. As a consequence, the search company can terminate the contract and sue the website owner for breach of contract.

Investigating Click Fraud

Successfully pursuing a click fraud claim requires more than suspicion. Our attorneys have extensive experience conducting forensic investigations to uncover fraudulent activity, including:

• Analyzing PPC logs and advertising data
• Identifying abnormal click patterns and timing
• Tracing IP addresses and traffic sources
• Comparing ad platform data against website analytics
• Quantifying financial harm caused by fraudulent clicks

This technical and data‑driven approach allows us to build compelling cases that withstand scrutiny from courts, arbitrators, and advertising platforms. We often utilize subpoenas and thorough digital analysis to ensure the best quality response to suspected click fraud.

Legal Remedies for Click Fraud

Depending on the facts, our click fraud attorneys may pursue claims based on:

• Unfair competition
• Tortious interference with business relations
• Trespass to chattels
• Fraud and misrepresentation
• Breach of contract

Kronenberger Rosenfeld has considerable experience in designing creative legal solutions to combat click fraud. To discuss a matter you may be facing, you can call Kronenberger Rosenfeld at 415-955-1155, ext. 120. Or you can submit your matter to us using our online case submission form.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

• Represented a registered agent and corporate formation services company in a lawsuit against a direct competitor that had implemented a fraudulent scheme to harm our client with fraudulent clicks in pay-per-click search engines.
• Represented a financial services company in click fraud claims against a competitor.
• Advised an international travel agency concerning click fraud by competitor.