See how scammers hijack Google sponsored links to steal from you

We all use Google, so we know how it works—especially the sponsored links at the top of search results. These links appear because someone paid to put them there, not because they’re the best match for your search. Sometimes they seem to fit perfectly, but even if a sponsored link looks like it matches what you’re looking for, don’t click on it. It could be a scam.

A recent example of this comes from Twitter. Author Cory Doctorow shared his experience trying to order takeout from a local Thai restaurant called Kiin Thai Eatery. When he searched for the restaurant on Google, the first result was a sponsored link, so he clicked on it.

It seemed harmless—just another link. But in this case, someone had hijacked the restaurant’s identity, turning the sponsored link into a scam. Always double-check before clicking, even if the link looks legit.

@doctorow on X

The link took Doctorow to a website pretending to be Kiin Thai Eatery. The site invited him to place an order, which he did, paying for his meal. Soon after, the real Kiin Thai Eatery called him. They told him they received an order—from a known scammer.

The scammer had created a fake website that copied Kiin Thai Eatery’s menu. They raised the prices by 15% and used Doctorow’s name to place an order with the real restaurant, hoping no one would notice. Fortunately, the restaurant caught the scam and canceled the order.

However, Doctorow was still charged—twice—for the fake order. This experience highlights two big questions: Why did American Express give a merchant license to scammers using a Wix phone number instead of a real business number? And why did Google allow the scammers to run a sponsored ad when the real restaurant already had one?

These scammers expose a hidden world of small-scale theft. They trick unsuspecting customers into paying higher prices through a fake middleman. The middleman then places the real order with the actual business and keeps the extra money as profit. As Doctorow points out, it’s similar to what third-party food delivery services do—but in this case, you never agreed to use the scammer’s “service.”

This type of scam isn’t new. A recent investigation by Which? found that scammers could create fake business ads on Google in just a few hours. They often start with a fake business page on Facebook and then expand from there.

But it’s not just fake businesses you need to worry about. Some scammers also use Google Ads to spread malware. If you click on a fake link that looks helpful, it could infect your device. Always be cautious and double-check links before clicking.

Simply put, Google doesn’t seem likely to fix this problem anytime soon. Since the company makes most of its money from ads, there isn’t much motivation for them to take action.

The safest thing you can do is avoid clicking on sponsored links and ads altogether. This is a good habit to get into anyway because these links are often unrelated to what you’re looking for.

Even if they seem helpful, they might take you to “deals” or pages you don’t want. Instead, scroll down a little in the search results to find safer, more reliable links—and avoid accidentally supporting scammers.