OLBG hit with fake DCMA

**connd** · 21 June 2024, 8:37 am

Some of you may have noticed this already but looks like Olbg.com has been hit with a fake DCMA takedown request:

https://lumendatabase.org/notices/42367144

And their page https://www.olbg.com/bookmakers.php which ranked in the UK for terms like "betting sites" has been removed from Google search.

Shocking bit of negative SEO it appears.

You can see ahrefs showing their loss of traffic:

That's a good chunk of change they're losing everyday

**baldidiot** · 21 June 2024, 10:05 am

Yeah that sucks, you think they've noticed? I've had this before and all you have to do is submit a counter notice.

Is there any kind of lumen monitoring service that would tell you if someone had made a claim against you? The ****** thing is that I think you don't get notified so it's up to you to spot it.

**bingoreviews** · 24 June 2024, 12:26 am

I can't actually believe this has played out like this. The site that has made the claim have copied the entire page from OLBG, it even has a big header on it saying "Top rated bookmakers by OLBG Users" and google didn't even spot that

**wonderpunter** · 24 June 2024, 11:02 am

ironic considering pretty much most of the results are now AI rip offs

**bingoreviews** · 27 June 2024, 4:26 am

Looks like they got this reversed as the page is now back in the SERPS. Still amazes me google didn't realise they were being copied and punished olbg for it. No idea who the people are that run it but glad they got it sorted and common sense prevailed

**iso2009** · 27 June 2024, 7:15 am

Happened to me (sent by one of my competitors, I will not name names or domains - I figured out much later who was behind it, anyway not a member of this forum). Sports related stuff. They took out 60+ pages.

Google does it automatically, an it's the most simple and most devastating type of negative SEO.

It takes a while to be aware of it, GSC will show a notification in 4-5 days after the suspension. If you have adsense on the page, then you'll get an instant notification.

I was back after almost 30 days, with all the pages. It a deeply flawed system and people are taking advantage of it. And for the perpetrator, there's nothing anyone can do.

**bpmee** · 27 June 2024, 10:59 am

The complainant site is absolute crap: an obvious repurposed domain with auto-generated content (langowherald[dot]org).

Shame on Google for punishing olbg for a d*ck move like that.

I sincerely hope the future of SEO isn't lawyers, legal notices, and frivolous use of the law.

**iso2009** · 27 June 2024, 11:09 am

Originally Posted by bpmee

The complainant site is absolute crap: an obvious repurposed domain with auto-generated content (langowherald[dot]org).

Shame on Google for punishing olbg for a d*ck move like that.

I sincerely hope the future of SEO isn't lawyers, legal notices, and frivolous use of the law.

Google doesn't verify complaints manually. So you can be hit anytime by virtually anyone. The sad thing is that the sender of the fake DMCA will be just fine: Google will not disclose any information unless you sue them.

Now what happens after you are hit probably depends on other factors. I am not sure how long was the olbg page out of the index, but the rule is:

- you submit the counter-notification and then wait 10 working days (which means 14 days of zero traffic). If the sender is not showing proof that they started a legal action against you, Google will reinstate the page.

I had to wait a total of 30 days to get all my 60 pages back, because you are advised to send the counter-notifications in chunks, and some of them will bounce back for whatever reason, so you need to send them again.

This absolutely s***ty system is still out-there and anyone can take "advantage" of it with ZERO repercussions

**bpmee** · 27 June 2024, 11:20 am

Agree 100%. Just wait until firms outsource these hit jobs to jurisdictions operating outside the reach of most court systems.

**iso2009** · 27 June 2024, 11:49 am

This Google vs Bungie saga is worth reading.

How it began:
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...wn-fraudsters/

What happened when Bungie tried to find out who sent the DMCA:
https://torrentfreak.com/bungie-vs-f...r-data-220407/

I'm not sure how Bungie found out who was behind the DMCAs, but this is how it ended:
https://torrentfreak.com/8-1m-damage...otices-240627/

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