crobb305 - 6:59 pm on Sep 1, 2012 (gmt 0)

In a case like this, it seems to me that Google should have their human evaluators contimually check the top results to protect consumers from fraud.

I agree that they should try. However, I think fraud would go largely undetected to the untrained eye (just as the fiasco with negative seo -- clearly Google doesn't understand what is going on in some of these competitive industries). Having said that, many of the established websites spent years building their brand, seeking out the best 3rd-party certifications, and have BBB scores of "A". Some of these sites were nailed over the past year or two because of Google's immature view of unnatural links. I don't expect a human reviewer to be able to identify a scam in the absence of credible certifications/BBB profiles, etc, which many of these newly-ranked webpages lack and when current reviewers are letting press releases proliferate. Google seems so consumed with "punishments" that make for dramatic headlines, that they simply do not understand the nature of vicious link practices in the financial sector. Consumers are now left to pay the price.