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How to Report Malicious Ads on Google and Bing (2026 Guide)

Learn how to identify a paid ad, report malicious Google and Bing placements through the correct official forms, preserve evidence, and avoid confusing ads with organic results.
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Report the ad through the platform that displayed it, not through a general website-abuse form. First determine whether the item is a paid advertisement or an ordinary search result. For a Google ad, use the ad’s More or Info control and choose Report ad, or use Google’s My Ad Center, Ads Transparency Center, or report form. For a malicious Bing ad, use Microsoft Advertising’s Report a Concern form. That form requires the ad’s internal rlink, the search query, a screenshot, country or region, and a concern category. An rlink is different from the display URL shown in the ad.

Keep evidence factual: describe what the ad did or what you observed rather than trying to prove which software produced it. Google acknowledges reports and reviews them through Trust & Safety, but says reporting an ad does not block it. Microsoft’s form does not state a response time or guaranteed outcome.

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Identify the placement before you report

The correct complaint route depends on where the suspicious item appeared. A paid ad normally carries an Ad or Sponsored label, appears in an advertising position, or exposes an ad-information control. An ordinary, non-sponsored result is handled as a search-result concern instead.

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What counts as a Google ad

Google serves ads on Google Search and Shopping, YouTube, and partner websites and apps. On a partner site or app, the AdChoices control can identify an ad delivered through Google. If the item has no advertising label or ad-information control, do not assume it is a Google ad merely because it appears in a Google search.

What counts as a Bing ad

A Bing ad is a paid placement on Microsoft properties or within the Microsoft Advertising Network. The Microsoft Advertising form covers low-quality or infringing ads and specifically includes malvertising—advertising with malicious intent to harm or defraud users.

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Why the distinction matters

Reporting an organic result through an advertising form sends the complaint to the wrong team and may omit the information needed to investigate the placement. Conversely, treating a paid phishing ad as an ordinary URL problem can lose the ad-specific tracking information Microsoft requests.

How to report a malicious Google ad

Google provides an in-product report control and several alternatives when the ad is no longer visible. The general route is described in Google Ads Help; the detailed on-ad flow is in My Ad Center Help.

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Report an ad while it is on screen

  1. Verify the placement. Check that the item is labeled as an ad on Google Search, Shopping, YouTube, or a partner property. On a partner site or app, look for AdChoices.
  2. Open the ad menu. On a Google service, select the ad’s More or Info control. Choose Report ad.
  3. Use the partner-site path when applicable. Select AdChoices, then Why this ad?, and then Report ad.
  4. Select the closest reason. Choose the category that matches what you actually saw, such as suspected impersonation, fraud, phishing, or malicious behavior.
  5. Complete and submit the form. Leave prefilled report fields unchanged. If Google asks for additional detail, explain the observable behavior and identify an impersonated site or organization by name when relevant.

Use an alternate Google reporting route

If the ad vanished, the ad menu is unavailable, or you need to review an ad you recently saw, Google points to three alternatives:

  • My Ad Center: review recently seen ads and report the relevant one.
  • Ads Transparency Center: look up the advertiser or ad and use the available reporting option.
  • Google’s report-an-ad form: submit the complaint directly when an in-product control cannot be used.

These routes are still for paid advertising. They should not be used simply because a normal search result links to a suspicious site.

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Describe the behavior without guessing at the code

Google’s malicious-software policy covers more than a conventional virus download. Its examples include an ad that forces a redirect to an unknown malware-infected site without the user clicking the ad, and an HTML5 ad that steals credentials from a publisher page. Read the examples in Google’s Malicious Software policy to understand the kind of conduct that is relevant.

Your report is more useful when it records facts: “The page redirected to a site I did not request,” “a fake sign-in box appeared,” or “the ad claimed to represent [organization name].” Do not claim that an ad contains a particular exploit or payload unless you have reliable evidence. A suspected impersonated organization’s name is useful context, but it is not proof that the organization created the ad.

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What happens after a Google report

Google says it acknowledges a report by email and that its Trust & Safety team reviews it. The company also states plainly that reporting an ad does not block that ad. You may therefore see the same ad again while a review is pending, or see another version of the campaign. Reporting is an escalation for review, not an immediate personal blocking control.

How to report a malicious Bing ad

For a suspicious paid placement on Bing, use Microsoft Advertising’s Report a Concern form. Microsoft’s form is designed for ad-quality concerns on Microsoft properties and the Microsoft Advertising Network, including fraud, phishing, scams, and malware.

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Open the advertising concern form

  1. Open Microsoft Advertising’s Report a Concern form.
  2. Identify the ad type requested by the form.
  3. Enter the ad’s rlink from the Bing results page. This is an internal ad link, not the visible destination or display URL.
  4. Enter the exact search query that produced the ad.
  5. Upload a screenshot showing the ad and, where possible, its label and surrounding results.
  6. Choose the concern category that best fits the evidence, such as Fraud, phishing or scam or Virus, spyware or malware.
  7. Select the required country or region. A contact email is optional on the form reviewed.
  8. Submit the complaint after checking that the rlink, query, screenshot, and category correspond to the same ad.

Copy the Bing rlink correctly

Microsoft specifically warns that the rlink is not the display URL. On the Bing results page, right-click the ad title, choose Copy Link, and paste the copied value into the rlink field. Do not copy the text printed under the headline or manually reconstruct a URL from what you see.

The distinction matters because the rlink carries ad-specific information that helps Microsoft locate the paid placement. A destination URL alone may identify a website but not the particular ad, account, or serving context that generated it.

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Give Microsoft enough context to reproduce the complaint

The search query tells Microsoft what targeting context surfaced the ad. The screenshot records the wording, labels, extensions, and layout that may disappear when the ad is withdrawn. Select the narrowest concern category supported by what you observed. For example, use the fraud, phishing, or scam category for a fake payment or login request; use the virus, spyware, or malware category when the ad or its landing flow presents malicious software behavior.

Country or region is required in the form reviewed. Include the location in which the ad appeared rather than guessing where the advertiser is based. Microsoft’s form does not promise a particular response time, removal deadline, or result, so keep your own record of the submission if the incident needs follow-up.

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Paid ad or organic result? Use the separate route

A suspicious site can appear as a normal, unpaid search result. That is a different complaint from a malicious advertisement.

Google organic results

Google Search Help’s Report a problem with Google Search guidance includes a route for phishing sites appearing as sponsored links and directs those users to the advertising report route. If the item is not sponsored, use Google’s search-result reporting options instead of calling it an ad.

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Bing organic results

Microsoft Support’s How to report a concern or contact Bing page covers particular URLs or other information in search results. It also notes that a report does not necessarily remove a URL. For a paid Bing ad, the Microsoft Advertising form remains the specific escalation route; do not assume that an organic-result complaint and an ad-quality complaint are interchangeable.

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Preserve useful evidence before the ad disappears

Ad campaigns can change while you are deciding how to report them. Capture the information that identifies the exact placement, but avoid interacting with the suspicious page more than necessary.

  • Take a screenshot. Include the ad label, headline, visible URL, surrounding results, and any warning or redirect message.
  • Record the query. Write down the exact words used in the search, including spelling and punctuation that may affect targeting.
  • Save the time and location. Note the date, approximate time, country or region, and whether the ad appeared on Search, Shopping, YouTube, or a partner site or app.
  • Preserve links without editing them. For Bing, copy the rlink exactly as Microsoft describes. For Google, retain the ad or advertiser details shown by the reporting interface.
  • Describe what you saw. Record redirects, fake login prompts, requests for payment or personal information, downloads, impersonation, or other observable behavior.
  • Do not diagnose beyond the evidence. “The ad redirected me to an unfamiliar domain” is stronger and safer than asserting a specific malware family without proof.

If the ad is still visible, submit the report from the platform interface before closing the page. If you already left, use the alternative Google route or reconstruct the Bing form from your screenshot and notes rather than repeatedly revisiting a suspicious destination.

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Google and Bing reporting routes compared

Aspect Google Bing / Microsoft Advertising
Where to start Ad’s More or Info control; AdChoices on a partner site or app Microsoft Advertising Report a Concern form
Alternative route My Ad Center, Ads Transparency Center, or Google’s report-an-ad form The advertising concern form is the specific route identified for malicious paid ads
Key evidence Reason for complaint and factual details; impersonated organization name can help Ad type, rlink, search query, screenshot, country or region, and concern category
Important link detail Use the ad’s reporting interface and do not edit prefilled fields The rlink is not the display URL; copy it from the ad title with Copy Link
Categories or examples Ad-policy reasons, including malicious software and impersonation-related details Fraud, phishing or scam; Virus, spyware or malware; other applicable concerns
After submission Google says it acknowledges reports by email and reviews them through Trust & Safety; reporting does not block the ad The reviewed form does not state a response time or guaranteed result

Troubleshoot common reporting problems

The ad disappeared before you could report it

For Google, check recently seen ads in My Ad Center or search the advertiser or ad in the Ads Transparency Center. For Bing, use your screenshot, query, and any copied link details to complete the Microsoft Advertising form. Do not invent an rlink if you did not capture it; provide the information the form allows and explain that the ad is no longer visible.

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You cannot find a Report ad control

Confirm that the item is actually a paid ad and that you are viewing it on the service where it was served. Partner sites and apps may expose the control through AdChoices → Why this ad? rather than a Google-branded menu. If the item is an organic result, switch to the appropriate search-result reporting route.

You copied the wrong Bing link

If you copied the visible destination URL, return to the Bing results page and right-click the ad title, then choose Copy Link. Paste that value into the rlink field. The visible URL and the rlink answer different identification needs and should not be substituted for one another.

You are unsure whether the behavior is malicious

Report the conduct you can support: an unexpected redirect, credential prompt, download, impersonation claim, or payment request. Choose the closest category and let the platform investigate. You do not need to establish the technical cause before filing a factual report.

What a report can—and cannot—do

A report gives the advertising platform information to evaluate a specific paid placement against its policies. It is not a guarantee that the ad will disappear immediately, that every copy of a campaign will be blocked, or that a website will be removed from organic search.

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Google explicitly sets the expectation that reporting does not block the ad. Microsoft’s form reviewed for this guide does not promise a deadline or outcome. If you continue seeing the placement, preserve the new evidence and submit a separate report when it represents a materially different ad or behavior.

A concise decision path

  1. Look for an Ad, Sponsored, or AdChoices indicator.
  2. If it is a Google ad, report it from the ad, My Ad Center, Ads Transparency Center, or Google’s report form.
  3. If it is a Bing ad, open Microsoft Advertising’s Report a Concern form and provide the rlink, query, screenshot, region, and category.
  4. If it is an unpaid result, use Google Search’s or Microsoft Support’s search-result concern route instead.
  5. Keep your description factual and retain evidence in case the ad reappears.

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