Obviously this is exaggerated, but I wouldn't put it past some crazy type to attempt such a thing on a smaller scale. Personally the card I use has a limit of 50K, and on the google side who knows how long a disguised ad could run before being caught as malicious -- a whole lotta charges could be racked up in just minutes...
I don't doubt for a second that google and/or the involved credit card company would reverse charges, but it is still somewhat scary to think about, and imagine logging in to that!
I think i'm going to change my password now, to something like R84skDs2jMMkd39Q.
edit - I was still bored so I just found out maximum allowable budget per campaign is 250K. Holy %$^!.
Shak
I don't doubt for a second that google and/or the involved credit card company would reverse charges
Why would they? I think you'd have a hard time proving that it wasn't you. If they made it easy to reclaim money for suspected fraudulent account access then many webmasters would be doing this themselves. Log in through a proxy server with an anony .... anyway, point is - I don't think it would be that easy to rectify.
hence y u should log in once a day and check to see whats happening (imo)
Part of my job is to really keep my ear to the ground regarding what is happening with the AdWords program. And having been here for 2.5+ years, I've never heard of an authenticated case of an account being broken into and tampered with.
The one case that really got my attention was an account in which keywords were being mysteriously deleted, but not by the person who was managing the account. Weird. And it went on for several days.
Turns out, though, that there was a very simple and logical explanation behind it all.
I think i'm going to change my password now, to something like R84skDs2jMMkd39Q.
This is actually a pretty good idea, IMO. It is really easy to change your password on a regular basis. Probably takes about 15 seconds, once you're in your account.
(My Account > User Preferences > Login Information > edit)
AWA
hence y u should log in once a day and check to see whats happening (imo)
Shak and AWA, people go on vacation too! The idea that on Christmas eve, or morning, or both to be sure, I need to login to check for fraud is a bit too much.
I would rather hope - and I quote below - that PPCBidder sentence holds true:
I don't doubt for a second that google and/or the involved credit card company would reverse charges
2.5+ years, I've never heard of an authenticated case of an account being broken into and tampered with.
I'm sure you could comment further, but I would have to bet that Google has one of the most secure systems on the planet. Plus anyone who actually might have the knowledge or come across a password to tamper with an account would know you guys would be all over them in a heartbeat. So I tend to believe the statement and that is an astounding thing, because I would think there would be at least a few cases of improper access followed by minor tampering out there. I would be interested to know if Overture could claim the same thing.
I need to login to check for fraud is a bit too much.
As such, I guess technically you don't really have to. But being prudent, obviously if you catch something on Day 1 it would be easier to fix than say on Day 5.
I don't doubt for a second that google and/or the involved credit card company would reverse charges
Why would they? I think you'd have a hard time proving that it wasn't you.
Well, if it is rather obvious of course they would, but I guess you have a point -- Say someone comes in and raises your Max CPC .10 cents or does something less obvious and you don't catch it for a while. That could get hairy I suppose, but as far as tracking down who the offender would be Google has some of the best resources to do that.
