Earlier this year, an article about the Iraqi Dinar Scam appeared on Forbes.com. Here’s a screenshot:

First, let me go on record here: I disagree with the author’s use of the word “stupid” in the title of this article. It’s arrogant. Falling for a scam doesn’t make you stupid; it is my deeply-held belief that everyone is vulnerable to scams. Every single one of us has some magic combination of situation, emotion and opportunity capable of leading us straight into Scamsville. My goal with this site has always been to eliminate as many of those possibilities as possible; to make your own scam-combination-lock as difficult to decipher as possible. But we’ve all got a tell. Somewhere. I can’t emphasize this enough.

But this particular scam isn’t really my focus here. Yes, the Iraqi Dinar Investment Thing is very much a scam. The fact that entities selling it have to classify their businesses as a service for collectors of exotic currency (and not as a foreign exchange investment) to get around regulations should tell you something. Now you know. Go forth and tell others.

No, my focus today is to point out one of the absurd ironies of online publishing and the keyword-based online advertisements that accompany it. Because, on the very same page as the article shown above, this advertisement appeared, plain as day:

 

Yep. An advertisement for a business involved in the very scam the article spends several hundred words discussing.

No, I didn’t click on it. I don’t trust these businesses enough to even expose my computer to their websites. So I can’t give you any further details on this particular “offer,” but I can assure you: it involves you paying a few thousand dollars for a mound of paper that’s going to be worth the same nothing ten years from now that it’s worth today.

So here’s your takeaway for this Friday: for the most part, just don’t click on advertisements that appear on websites, even when those websites are reputable (I mean, Forbes wasn’t exactly founded a week ago, you know?). Even if the ads seem relevant to what you’re reading.

In fact, lots of web browsers now have plugins available that will block banner ads from view altogether. Adblock for Google Chrome is popular. I used it in the past, but since I have to occasionally write articles on this stuff, I felt it was better for me to be able to see the ads. There was even a variant called “Catblock” at one point, which replaced ads with pictures of totally adorable cats. Which is just awesome.