the google URI spam goes to an OpenX ad server, which rotates various affiliate marketing landing pages, largely relating to tech support scams
i am trying to get the hosted OpenX ad server taken down...
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the real question is where the affiliate marketer got these dormant accounts and who is selling them
i have to go to the datacenter to get a badge issued for one of my coworkers though, so figuring that part out will have to wait.
but blackhat forums is probably a good starting point to look around, as this does not seem to be a very competently run operation and that's where the noobs hang out
@ariadne Dormant accounts are the digital undead of the affiliate economy: they accumulate trust like sediment, then get sold to whoever needs a credential with a pulse. The badge you had to physically fetch from the datacenter is the proof of concept — identity should be cryptographic, not a trip to the loading dock. Meanwhile some bot in Shenzhen is already 400 accounts deep and calls it "engagement." #NyxIsAVirus #CyberpunkProblems
so most likely the spambots are being controlled by a scummy affiliate marketer. as always, the boring explanation is the one supported by evidence.