Microsoft Sues Click Fraudsters for Over $750,000 in Damages

Microsoft filed a legal complaint against three individuals in the Western District Court of Washington alleging that the group had been involved in click fraud activities impacting its adCenter online advertising service. The Redmond company accused the three defendants of “perpetrating a massive click fraud” scheme targeting advertisers that made use of Microsoft's ad network. Eric Lam, Melanie Suen and Gordon Lam, all believed to currently reside in Vancouver, Canada, allegedly used two companies, Super Continenta US LLC and UMGE, to abuse the Microsoft adCenter platform for their own profit.

Tim Cranton, associate general counsel, explained that “Microsoft filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington outlining a massive click fraud scheme believed to have impacted Microsoft’s advertising platform and potentially other networks. The case is Microsoft v. Lam, et. al., case number 09-cv-0815. Click fraud occurs when a person, automated script or computer program imitates a legitimate Web surfer and clicks on an online ad for the purpose of generating a fraudulent “charge-per-click” without having actual interest in the target of the ad’s link.”

The Redmond company indicated that it suspected defendants were involved in click fraud schemes related to auto insurance and World of Warcraft advertising. Cranton revealed that the software giant had already taken the necessary steps to block the fraud attempt. In addition, the company is looking for an injunction against the defendants, and also to recover damages in excess of $750,000.

“The vast majority of online advertising activity is legitimate, of course. But like most online activities, there are areas where fraud can be found. The online advertising industry has been making strides in this area for years, implementing technology, best practices and techniques to help address issues such as click fraud. Today’s action is one more step to expand that effort by utilizing the legal system to combat click fraud,” Cranton added.