I report ads with r-link, your reviewers claim there is no r-link?

Question

I report ads with r-link, your reviewers claim there is no r-link?

Anonymous

I find a scam ad on Microsoft Edge's start page, Microsoft Start/MSN.com and I copy the r-link and and give the relevant info, where the ads are, that there is no search query and why I reported it, and I send the report it to your reviewers, but get the reply:

"Hello,

Thank you for contacting us! To review an ad for compliance with our policies, we require an r-link. Please locate the r-link by following these steps:

Go to search site that ad result is found. (ex: Bing.com)

Enter the search query and perform the search

Find the ad in question and right-click on the ad title

Select ‘Copy Link’

If you have additional questions regarding r-links more information is available here. We hope this information is helpful. We look forward to assisting you with this matter.

Best Regards, Microsoft Advertising Support, Trust & Safety Services (ASTS)"

The ads are on MSN.com, so there is no search site and no search query!, and I gave them the r-link. I get the r-link by right-clicking on the ad title and copying it, just as I should. Most of the time, the r-links start with api.taboola.com or ams3-ib.adnx.com and seldom from Bing, so they are from third party ad providers, but they are on a Microsoft site, and you have taken measures and removed them before, so I don't see why you can't now?

At the moment there are over twenty scam ads for "medical devices" on the Swedish Microsoft Start/MSN page, scamming people with lung diseases and diabetes. It's very frustrating.

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

7 answers

Answer 1

Thanks for the info. Sounds like you're getting some results.

Don

Yes, some results. But the same scams are back under other "company" names. I can go on Microsoft Edge and see the start page, Microsoft Start, and count 20-25 criminal ads for scams on the page as I scroll down, targeting the elderly and sick people. Taboola and Adnxs are behind all of them.

It boggles my mind that Microsoft doesn't put the ads from these rogue ad providers on hold and review them before letting them publish their ads on Microsoft sites like msn.com.

Two days ago my 81 year old father clicked on an ad for a "natural cure for diabetes", and I had to explain to him that is was a scam. -"It's this doctor who said this" -"NO, there is no doctor. It's a SCAM. The photo is stolen".

Yeah. Puzzling that one or more MSN staffers can't check MSN pages a few times each day. The fraudulent ads are so obvious.

Don

Answer 2

Thanks for the info. Sounds like you're getting some results.

Don

Yes, some results. But the same scams are back under other "company" names. I can go on Microsoft Edge and see the start page, Microsoft Start, and count 20-25 criminal ads for scams on the page as I scroll down, targeting the elderly and sick people. Taboola and Adnxs are behind all of them.

It boggles my mind that Microsoft doesn't put the ads from these rogue ad providers on hold and review them before letting them publish their ads on Microsoft sites like msn.com.

Two days ago my 81 year old father clicked on an ad for a "natural cure for diabetes", and I had to explain to him that is was a scam. -"It's this doctor who said this" -"NO, there is no doctor. It's a SCAM. The photo is stolen".

Answer 3

Hello Don,

no, the Feedback link and the report the ads directly is useless. I did that before, but nothing happened. I use this form: https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en/forms/policies/report-spam-form

Finally, after reporting the ads again they got back to me saying that they took action against the ads. But new ones showed up with different names.

R-links are the links from the ad provider that redirects you to the site of those who advertise their products. The scammers often use taboola or adnxs.

At the moment there are many scam ads for a cheap watch they claim can measure blood sugar better and more exact than the "lying big companies".

Ads about a spray that can cleanse and detoxify your lungs and generate new lung cells.

And a ton of ads for zone therapy insoles that will cure all foot pains, flat feet and make your blood circulation better, and now they also claim that they are a secret weightloss method.

I can't upload images. It says they failed to upload.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like you're getting some results.

Don

Answer 4

Hello Don,

no, the Feedback link and the report the ads directly is useless. I did that before, but nothing happened. I use this form: https://about.ads.microsoft.com/en/forms/policies/report-spam-form

Finally, after reporting the ads again they got back to me saying that they took action against the ads. But new ones showed up with different names.

R-links are the links from the ad provider that redirects you to the site of those who advertise their products. The scammers often use taboola or adnxs.

At the moment there are many scam ads for a cheap watch they claim can measure blood sugar better and more exact than the "lying big companies".

Ads about a spray that can cleanse and detoxify your lungs and generate new lung cells.

And a ton of ads for zone therapy insoles that will cure all foot pains, flat feet and make your blood circulation better, and now they also claim that they are a secret weightloss method.

I can't upload images. It says they failed to upload.

Answer 5

Don Varnau 19,740 Volunteer Moderator

I don't know what an r-link is and the first 4 pages of Google search results didn't tell me, but...

Are you reporting these ads via the Feedback link at the bottom of the MSN page?

Don

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I report ads with r-link, your reviewers claim there is no r-link?

7 answers