As an intelligent, tech-savvy reader of TechCrunch, you’re probably pretty good at spotting online scams — from Nigerian Princes to friends “stuck” in London, many of us have trained ourselves to mentally rule out any offer that seems too good to be true, especially when it includes words like “Easy Cash”. But there are still plenty of people who fall prey to online scammers.
Back in December 2009, Google filed suit against a number of scamming rings that were rampantly promoting sites promising “Easy Cash with Google” (of course, they offered nothing of the sort). Now the courts are siding with the search giant, ordering the rings to cease their behavior and to pay Google $1.6 million.
Today’s order, which applies to Bloosky.com, Just Think Media, Crush, Hyper Interactive, Viable, and Search 4 Profit, states that the entities are henceforth permanently forbidden to, among other things, “[make] any false representation, or [perform] any act or thing likely to induce the mistaken belief, that Google has in any way approved or is affiliated with, connect to or associated with any of the Enjoined Parties…”
In other words, Google won. Google also won a similar injunction against Pacific WebWorks last June. Here’s today’s court order: