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Jessie Stricchiola, a click fraud expert who frequently represents advertisers seeking refunds from Google and Yahoo, estimates that click fraud accounts for as much as 20 percent of the clicks in some industry sectors. The president of AlchemistMedia.com, Stricchiola said tens of thousands of advertisers, who pay Google and Yahoo by credit card, are being overcharged daily, adding that neither search engine has a large enough staff devoted to monitoring the problem or fielding complaints.

Hyperbole from selfish lawyers aside, click fraud is an interesting problem. It may never be fully solved, but can advertisers tolerate it like retailers tolerate (some) theft? I think it will eventually be accepted as a cost of doing business, with enforcers at ad syndicates in a contant arms race against this next wave of organized crime.