Copy-cat websites pay Google to appear at the top of search results, Trading Standards say PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty ImagesTrading standards officials have accused Google of profiting from crime by letting fraudsters pay to place their websites at the top of search results. The consumer protection agency said that internet users were losing millions of pounds to websites that mimic the look of official ones, tricking people into paying over the odds for government services. The fraudsters pay Google to appear prominently when words such as “passport renewal” are searched. Mike Andrews, of National Trading Standards, said: “The growth of copycat websites has been fuelled by their appearance in search results . Trading Standards is willing to take action by prosecuting copycat website operators but Google and other search engines must play their part to stop this problem.” He said that search engines must “proactively…

Source: The Times November 10, 2017 00:02 UTC