If you have ever been annoyed by fake buttons for closing popup ads, here are more tricks to be wary of…
Much has been in CybersecAsia.net said about how businesses need to gain the trust of consumers — by the proper use and protection of their personal data.
However, is data privacy and protection all there is to earning consumer trust? Some e-commerce platforms now put in extra effort to offer customer peace-of-mind with features such as guaranteed delivery of the advertised product; a no-questions-asked return period if there is evidence of misleading/false product advertisement claims. These are competitive starting points for businesses to walk the talk, and really show their customer-centric approach.
However, before a potential customer even gets to a product or manufacturer website, a whole arsenal of “tricky” advertisements and other promotional tactics is still being used by the same e-commerce and digital platforms to attract visitors.
Here are just a few of these ad tricks that readers should be wary of. Once you fall for the tricks, you may end up visiting pages you do not want to see; products you have no interest in; or even get tricked into downloading malware/fakeware/trojans and adware!
Online ads: sneaky tricks of the trade
Read the following descriptions of dirty web/browser techniques, and see how many of them you have ever encountered. Have you been annoyed? Irritated? Angered? Would you trust the advertiser and/or product manufacturer or hosting platform that resorts to such trust-detracting tactics?
- Tricky “close-this-ad” countdown timers
Many ads and host platforms allow this sneaky trick: When an in-game ad or compulsory ad appears, the familiar encircled X (close) icon indicates a countdown timer to let a person know when the ad can be closed. However, advertisers are known to:
- make the countdown period too long, to allow time for other tricky icons appearing
- create a Close button that is too small for most fingers to press on
- siting it in a translucent form
- creating multiple Close buttons to confuse people. One of the Close buttons will actually take the person straight to the website of the advertise
- adding an extra layer of deception by disguising Close or other action buttons. For instance, once the timer ends, a button may appear with a misleading label like “Continue” or “Next”, which users may interpret as a way to proceed to their desired content. However, clicking this button instead redirects them to an advertiser’s site or starts another ad. The actual “Close” or “Skip” button desired by the person may be hidden, hard to see, or appear only after a long delay
- Hidden “Auto Subscription” check boxes
Check boxes for closing the ad or opting out of some unwanted offers are pre-checked during checkout or sign-up, leading to unintended subscriptions or charges.
- Disguised ad buttons
Deceptive buttons that look like “Skip Ad” or “Continue” but instead redirect a person to the advertiser’s page instead of performing the expected action.
- Forced account creation
The ad has a requirement to create an account before checkout — to capture personal data and send promotional emails, often with a difficult guest checkout/opt out process.
- Manipulative Exit-Intent pop-ups
Exit-intent pop-ups are abused by the ad or website that offer dubious discounts or deals (usually full of pre-requisites and exclusion clauses) just as you try to leave the site, attempting to keep you on the page.
- Bait-and-Switch tactics
Products are advertised at attractive prices, only to reveal higher prices or additional costs at checkout, or suggesting more expensive alternatives when the advertised item is “out of stock”.
- Infinite scroll or “endless pages”
Some websites, especially those hosting clickbait feeds,, use infinite scrolling or endless pages that make it difficult for users to find the information they need, keeping them on the site longer and exposing them to more ads.
- Fake social proof
This involves displaying fake reviews, testimonials, or “number of items sold” counters to create an illusion of popularity and trustworthiness. Some sites also show fake live counters that claim other users are viewing or purchasing items.
- Phantom discounts
Some e-commerce sites show inflated original prices alongside “discounted” prices, where the “discount” is either non-existent or much smaller than advertised. This trick plays on the consumer’s insatiable desire for a good deal.
- Misleading “free trial” offers
Some ads or websites offer “free trials” that automatically enroll you in a paid subscription unless you cancel within a very short and unclear time frame. The cancellation process is often deliberately made difficult to trap people to stick with the subscription.
- Tricky Opt-Out mechanisms
Some websites use complicated or hidden processes to allow people to opt-out of subscriptions, mailing lists, or memberships. They could bury the opt-out options deep within settings, require multiple steps, or even ask for confirmation more than once, hoping people will give up and stay subscribed/enrolled.
- Browser history manipulation/hijacking
- Forced Back-Button hijacking
Normally, when you click the back button in your browser, it takes you to the previous page you visited or lets you exit to a previous website. However, the sneaky ones insert extra URLs into your browser history, so when you try to go back, you either stay on the same page or are redirected to a different page on the same site.
- URL injection
Some sites engage in URL injection into your browser’s History stack. These fake URLs do not correspond to real pages but are there to confuse the browser history and make it harder for you to navigate back to where you came from.
- Infinite pop-up loops
Another dirty tactic involves creating an infinite loop of pop-ups or new tabs that open whenever you try to leave the site. These loops are often triggered by clicking the Back button or trying to Close the tab. The new pop-ups can contain ads or deceptive offers or phishing links, and the user ends up in a cycle where each attempt to close or navigate away just spawns more pop-ups.
- History flooding
This is a technique where a site rapidly loads multiple URLs into your history, overwhelming the browser’s back button functionality. This tactic is similar to back-button hijacking but is more aggressive, as it floods the history stack with many entries, making it nearly impossible to use the back button effectively.
- Forced Back-Button hijacking
If any of the above annoyances have stoked up undesirable emotions in you, take action by:
- Finding trustworthy browser extensions (such as ad blockers) to block manipulative scripts, preventing sites from hijacking your history or performing other actions you do not appreciate.
- Clearing your browser history: Regularly clearing your browser history can help mitigate the effects of history flooding or URL injection.
- Staying informed: Knowing how these tricks work can help you recognize when they are being used, allowing you to navigate away more effectively and safely.
- Using Private Browsing mode: Browsing in incognito or private mode can sometimes prevent sites from manipulating your history, as these modes do not store browsing history in the same way.
As a public service call-to-action, this writer implores everyone who is professionally involved in the above web/ad tactics to raise awareness and attention to the moral, ethical and cybersecurity implications of such trust-eroding tactics!
