Ad targeted at College Students.

The lawsuit focuses on FTC regulation violations. Regulations are aimed at preventing the use of false testimonials and the association of popular companies like Google, Yahoo, ABC and others not directly associated with the offer. Pacific Webworks, the company named in the article is a repeat offender, which often uses "ËœWork for Google, Make 100s Daily," type ads to scam consumers.

Crackdown Comes Because of Illegal Use of Legitimate Companies' Images 

Pacific Webworks and other unnamed defendants in the lawsuit have been accused of defrauding customers through offers appearing when people search for work at home opportunities. The offers also reach consumers through email spam and legitimate websites where the creators of fraudulent offers post their ads. Consumers should be aware that legitimate opportunities to work for GoogleAdSense do not usually have any type of "Ëœinitial sign up fee.' If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

MediaTrust, an affiliate industry leader, is also taking time to address this issue. In an article on Adotas, MediaTrust co-founder Jivan Manhaus speaks about his company's moving to an invite-only model "where publishers need to essentially be invited or provide references from publishers that have already been working with us for quite some time in order to be approved on the network."

These safeguards are intended to cut down on fraud and weed out illegitimate publishers. While it may initially seem harsh, these practices cut down on publisher fraud, a serious concern and drain on financial resources for many affiliates. Manhaus also lists other ways publisher network fraud can be curtailed, such as an introduction of industry standards which will assure top advertisers of the legitimacy of performance marketing.