If you've been on any video-sharing website, you've almost certainly seen one of those perplexing ads recently. You know, those ads: inexplicable Christmas music over a montage of clips of what is purportedly an extremely sophisticated robot dog. They've been absolutely everywhere, and though it doesn't take a detective to tell that it's fraudulent, exactly why websites like YouTube and TikTok have allowed this kind of thing to persist is its own mystery.
I was prepared to write it off as just one of those weird things before stumbling upon a detailed breakdown of these fraudulent ads – and others like them – by accomplished scambaiter Atomic Shrimp (which feels like a username more fit for a 2014-era scene kid than a middle-aged Englishman).
There's quite a bit of valuable insight here, drawing from Mr. Shrimp's vast experience in dealing with scams of this sort. The first step to avoiding scams like this is being aware of them – something you think is obvious might not be so to everyone else, and if the robot dogs don't get you there's a good chance something else might if you show up unprepared.
Previously:
• Here's an emotional support animal you can take on a plane (because it's an AI-powered Tribble)
