Google Ads is Failing to Protect People From Crypto Scams

How does such a seemingly omnipotent company fail to do something so basic?

Users of the Uniswap decentralized exchange could be at risk thanks to a new Google ad.

“URGENT WARNING FOR ANYONE USING UNISWAP,” crypto influencer and YouTuber, BitBoy, said in an Aug. 11 tweet. 

Tagging Google’s Twitter accounts, he added:

“Google you should be ashamed. Whoever runs GoogleAds is FAILING MISERABLY. On YouTube where scammers get ads through and now on your own platform.”

According to BitBoy, entering a Google search for “UniSwap” returns an advertisement link as one of the first results at times.  “When you click that ad, it will take you to a site that looks JUST LIKE Uniswap, but it will ask you for the seed phrase of your wallet,” the influencer detailed as part of his tweet.

Inputting said security phrase then results in funds stolen from the associated storage. The Uniswap con cost one of BitBoy’s compatriots $30,000, the influencer detailed. 

Uniswap has risen in popularity among crypto participants in recent weeks, putting the scam center stage amid soaring altcoin prices. 

The false Uniswap con site is not the first nefarious effort to slide past Google’s overwatch either. A number of fake advertisements and videos have popped up on Google’s daughter company YouTube. Such videos urge viewers to send crypto to an address while promising they will receive a greater amount of crypto sent back to them — an age-old crypto fraud maneuver. 

Meanwhile, many legitimate crypto YouTubers have fought their way through account bans and strikes since December 2019.