Google Search results infilitrated by ads for dodgy broadband packages

Which? details the latest broadband search scam on Google

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Millions of people turn toGoogleto find thebest broadband dealseveryday and, by and large, the deals are there to be found.

But a worryingreportfrom Which? has claimed something shadier is going on with Google ads for broadband services.

According to the watchdog, numerous Google ads are pointing towards a shady Cyprus-based broker called Supanet which could be causing serious harm to shoppers.

Mysterious ads

Broadly speaking, these ads – which often appear ahead of results for Sky, BT, and TalkTalk – ask the user to call a specific number. The ads appear to be from two companies: Broadband Services and Phone Internet.

Neither of these companies appear on Companies House, the compulsory register of business activity in the UK, and appear to be linked in Supanet.

Which? called up the mysterious numbers and was put in touch with Comms Broker, which also isn’t registered with companies house. On each occasion, the person on the end of the phone tried to sell a broadband package from Supanet.

A tangled web

The investigation wasn’t able to definitively link Supanet and Comms Broker, but they share some similarities. Comms Broker, for example, exclusively sells Supanet packages.

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For its part, Google said: “We don’t allow ads or destinations that deceive users by excluding relevant product information or providing misleading information about products, services or businesses. Where we find ads that breach our policies we take action to remove them.”

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Google also confirmed that it had removed ads highlighted by Which? in their report.

Unfortunately, scams are everywhere and broadband deals are fertile ground.

TechRadarrecommends sticking to trusted and known brands – Virgin, TalkTalk, Sky, and so on – and helping anyone who might be vulnerable to these scams, such as elderly people, with their searching.

Max Slater-Robins has been writing about technology for nearly a decade at various outlets, covering the rise of the technology giants, trends in enterprise and SaaS companies, and much more besides. Originally from Suffolk, he currently lives in London and likes a good night out and walks in the countryside.

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