New email extortion scheme threatens to get websites kicked off Google AdSense unless they pay up
A new email scam threatens website owners with a flood of bot traffic to get their Google AdSense accounts suspended, Krebs on Security reports. By directing a large amount of bot traffic to a company’s banner ads, the scammers could trigger Google’s automated anti-fraud protection. (The Verge)Google pulls 500 malicious Chrome extensions after researcher tip-off
Google has abruptly pulled over 500 Chrome extensions from its Web Store that researchers discovered were stealing browsing data and executing click fraud and malvertising after installing themselves on the computers of millions of users. (Naked Security)
Contextual advertising company GumGum raises $22M
GumGum is announcing that it’s raised $22 million from existing investors Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, NEA spinout NewView Capital and Upfront Ventures. CEO Phil Schraeder said he’ll use the funds to pursue a more aggressive acquisition strategy. (Tech Crunch)Hitwise shuts down less than a month after Jumpshot closes shop
Connexity-owned Hitwise, which specialized in online measurement, announced that it would cease US operations this week. The closure is “due to events outside of our control,” Hitwise said on its homepage. The week prior, one of Hitwise’s partners, marketing analytics firm Jumpshot, was shuttered by parent company Avast, a cybersecurity firm, following an investigation into Jumpshot’s privacy practices. (adExchanger)Criteo expects 10% revenue drop in 2020, as CEO Clarken lays out survival plan
Revenue decreased 3% year over year to $653 million in Q4 2019, according to Criteo’s earnings report Tuesday. And the company expects revenue to drop 10% in 2020. But CEO Megan Clarken, the former Nielsen chief commercial officer who took over in November 2019, said Criteo has the pieces to be a major player as a full-stack DSP business. (adExchanger)Ad fraud at Uber with Kevin Frisch podcast
During this episode of “Marketing Today,” host Alan Hart interviews Kevin Frisch, who was recently the CMO of Wag and before that the head of performance marketing, and CRM for Uber. Frisch discusses the fraud case between Uber and its suppliers of performance marketing and advertising. Frisch shares what happened, what was the trigger that launched the investigation, how they diagnosed what was going on, and several measurement challenges along the way. (Marketing Today Podcast)
CEO Gentry officially takes reins at OpenX, talks business plans, importance of luck
John Gentry, OpenX CEO, believes there is a lot of luck when it comes to weaving through a successful career, but he also seems a bit modest when talking about his own. Chairman Tim Cadogan, former CEO, officially passed the reins to Gentry on Feb. 14 to become CEO at GoFundMe. (MediaPost)
