Pagejacking and Mousetrapping:
The Real Cost

How do scammers pagejack and mousetrap?

To pagejack, scammers make digital copies of certain web pages including meta tags. Meta tags are hidden text in a websites page that inform the Internet's search engines about the subject matter of a site and permit the search engine to properly categorize the site in the engine. The scammers then insert one change to the copy of the web page by adding a command to "redirect" any user intending to go to legitimate site to be redirected to the pornographic site.

For example, to find an innocent site like "wedding services", the innocent internet user would type in "wedding services" in the appropriate search engine field. The search results would list a number of sites including the copied site which users would assume is legitimate. Once the users clicks on the copied site, he or she would be rerouted to the offending site by virtue of the added "redirect command".

Once at the offending site, the user would be mousetrapped. The offending site has been programmed to redirect the user to another site. Each time the user depresses the "back" button of his browser, he or she goes back to the initial page of the offending site which then again redirects him or her to the other offending page. This creates a loop out of which the user will be unable to break using his "back" button of his or her browser. The scammer is able to program his web page to redirect the user with the use of either Javascript, a popular internet programming language or the insertion of HTTP-EQUIV, a line of coding, in the meta tags. (Note that the "back " button on Internet Explorer 5 is not vulnerable to this type of programming since it will not record instructions that send the user forward when the "back" button is depressed. As such, the "back" button can be used to exit the offending site using Internet Explorer 5.)

How does this benefit the Scammer?

The scammer can make money pagejacking and mousetrapping by:

• increasing the advertising revenue at his site since the scammer is paid for each new visitor that comes to his site. Each redirection to his site resulting from the user's attempt to leave counts as a new visit and hence more money to the scammer.

• referral fees to other offending sites. Sometimes the redirection is to another pornographic site that pays the scammer for each referred visitor. Furthermore, the other pornographic site owner makes advertising revenue in the same manner described in the preceding paragraph.

• increasing his or her advertising revenue by charging premium advertising rates. Busier sites can command higher advertising rates.

• offering visitors other pornographic material for a price.

• using the scheme to inflate the value of the domain names or Web addresses of their sites, by increasing the viewership of those addresses. The scammers would then tried to auction those sell their sites or the domain names of their sites on the internet at many multiples of their original cost.

• Users lose time in trying to get out of offending sites.

• Users lose a sense of security and control when surfing the net.

• Children can get exposed to offending materials. One can not quantify the damage to a child by his or her being subjected to this kind of material at young ages and their frustration at trying to escape the offending pages.

• Parents lose sense of security in letting children surf the net alone.

• The legitimate website loses customers by virtue of the diversion of his page. This results in lost customer sales, lost advertising revenue and reduces the value of his or her site if he or she is trying to sell it to another company.

• Search Engines can become tools for scammers and become less effective. Without search engines the ability to find desired websites becomes a difficult if not impossible task.

• Advertisers pay more than would be otherwise required because of inflated number of visits to a site.

• Disable the "Java script," function of your browser before you surf the net. This will allow you to exit the scammer site where the type of programming used in the meta tags is Java Script. Certain users will not like this since many sites use Java script to enhance the visual and audio feeling of a site.

• Obtain internet filtering software which would filter pornographic and other offending material. This should help in avoiding being redirected to the pornographic site. Ensure that your filtering software is constantly updated.

• If you find yourself at the scammer site, manually enter a new URL or web address or choose a new site from your favorites folder.

• Talk to your children to prepare them for what they might encounter on the net and how to handle the situation if they find themselves being pagejacked and mousetrapped.

• By depressing the triangle on the "back" button of both Netscape and Internet Explorer, and choosing the second last URL (web address).

If you encounter pagejacking or mousetrapping, report it to our Complaint Centre and to the FTC .

<< Return to Consumer Scams, Shams and Spams