YouTube scam ad causes doctor to lose $90,000: How not to get duped

Online advertising platforms are teeming with fraudulent ads that often slip through the cracks in their scam detection systems. Google alone reported that it removed over 5.5 billion ads last year and suspended 12.7 million advertiser accounts for violating its policies, including promoting malware.

The goal of these platforms is to stop harmful ads before they even make it onto their networks — or at least remove them as quickly as possible once they appear. Google, like most major ad network operators, relies heavily on machine learning and artificial intelligence to identify and block fraudulent content. According to Google, around 90% of its enforcement actions at the publisher page level are powered by machine learning models. While this tech-driven approach is the only feasible solution, given the sheer volume of ads, it’s not foolproof.

Just think about it: if Google removed 5.5 billion ads, how many ads were greenlit to stay? It’s almost inevitable that some malicious ads (those promoting scams or seeding malware) manage to evade detection until it's too late, that is, until they’re already out there, potentially tricking people.

The scam: A fake investment opportunity

In a disturbing example of how fraudulent ads continue to make their way onto major platforms, a government doctor in India lost a staggering $90,000 after being lured into a scam by a deceptive ad on YouTube. The Hindu reported that Dr. Ramesh (not his real name), an associate professor at a government medical college, became the victim of an elaborate scam that promised high returns on investments. The fraud began when he saw an ad on YouTube offering “training and guidance” on how to trade stocks and invest in IPOs from well-known companies. The ad seemed professional and convincing, making the opportunity appear legitimate. It led him to join a WhatsApp group where multiple individuals posed as successful investors, further convincing him that the investment opportunity was sound. Enticed by the promise of easy profits, Dr. Ramesh ended up transferring a total of ₹76.5 lakh (around $90,000) to what he thought was a credible online trading platform only that it was not.

It wasn't until he attempted to withdraw his funds, however, that he realized he became the victim of a rather typical fraud scheme.

How the scam worked: Textbook malvertising

The ad Dr. Ramesh encountered is a textbook case of malvertising, where deceptive or fraudulent ads are used to trick users into falling for scams. The key to this type of scam is to make ads appear as if they come from trusted sources. They are practically indistinguishable from those legitimate, and that’s precisely why they are more likely to go undetected by the largely automated safety checks.

In Dr. Ramesh’s case, the ad was hosted on YouTube — a platform where users typically trust the content they see, so this fact could have helped to tip the scales in favor of the fraudsters.

What makes this case particularly alarming is that Dr. Ramesh is a highly educated, highly trained medical professional — someone you might think would be more cautious when faced with a potentially fraudulent ad. However, his gullibility just goes to show that no one is immune to online scams. The internet has become a minefield where anyone, regardless of their profession or experience, can fall victim to fraud.

How to protect yourself from scam ads

The rise of YouTube’s ad-based revenue model has created a dilemma for users. YouTube gave them a choice, either pay for a YouTube Premium subscription to stop seeing all ads or continue watching YouTube for free but endure a flood of ads. However, not even all YouTube Premium subscribers are safe. YouTube Premium Lite, which is cheaper than the standard premium plan and which was recently reintroduced in a several selected countries, still shows ads, so users are not guaranteed to be free of harmful content.

As the number of fraudulent ads continues to grow, the best defense is a proactive approach. For instance, The FBI recommends using ad blockers as a first line of defense. By blocking ads before they have a chance to load, you can avoid potentially dangerous ads and reduce your risk of falling for scams.

Until ad networks and platforms implement even stricter controls, the best way to protect yourself is to use an ad blocker and be cautious of any ad that seems too good to be true.