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They aren't, because they are blocking ads.

But when they turn off ad-block, to "see what it's like", they are not getting an accurate view. It's usually all crypto and other scammy/vices type ads.

Go look at your mom's browser. Her Google ads are going to be clothes, tissues, and cookware.

Nigerian prince scams cannot outbid Kleenex without breaking the economics of the scam. But they can get loaded when Kleenex no-bids because they don't know who the viewer is.

Trust me, ad-tech is far far beyond 2004 when ad block showed up.

(I'll add that of course there are other less legitimate ad networks, and I'm not counting "snake oil" products, which are essentially scams but customers still swear by them)



You can buy any ad targeting you want. "Elderly, lives alone, is not too poor, is not tech-savvy" is a great target audience for an online scam.

I don't understand why you claim that targeting doesn't happen; I see it happening with people I know, who wouldn't even know what adblock is.




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