Repeated Appearance of Fraudulent Advertisers in Microsoft Casual Games

Question

Repeated Appearance of Fraudulent Advertisers in Microsoft Casual Games

Dear Microsoft Support Team,

I am writing to raise a serious and ongoing concern regarding the advertising content being shown within Microsoft Solitaire and other Microsoft Casual Games. Over recent weeks, I have repeatedly encountered adverts from businesses that, upon even the most basic scrutiny, appear to be operating misleading or fraudulent practices. This includes, most recently, a company calling itself Aquoxis, promoting a jet‑spray product that shows every hallmark of a scam operation. A simple Google search is enough to reveal that this is not a legitimate or trustworthy business.

This is not an isolated incident. I have also seen adverts for dubious shoe retailers and other questionable establishments whose legitimacy collapses under minimal investigation. The pattern is now clear: multiple advertisers of extremely poor integrity are being allowed to appear on your platform.

For a company of Microsoft’s scale, resources, and technical capability, this is unacceptable.

Microsoft is not a passive bystander in this process. By hosting and distributing these adverts, Microsoft is directly facilitating exposure to misleading commercial activity and, in doing so, risks enabling the exploitation of innocent users — many of whom trust Microsoft’s brand as a marker of safety and reliability. The argument that such adverts are removed “eventually” once reported is not sufficient. Microsoft has far greater access to verification tools, fraud‑detection systems, and advertiser‑screening mechanisms than any individual user. These adverts should never have been approved in the first place.

I therefore request the following:

 A full review of the ad‑vetting process used for Microsoft Casual Games, particularly regarding third‑party programmatic ad sources.

1. Immediate removal of the advertisers in question, including Aquoxis and the other retailers recently displayed.
2. Confirmation of what corrective measures will be implemented to prevent fraudulent or misleading advertisers from appearing in the future.
3. A clear explanation of how Microsoft intends to protect users from deceptive commercial content going forward.

I am raising this matter not only for my own benefit but out of concern for the many users who may be less able to identify fraudulent advertising and who may suffer financial loss as a result. Microsoft has both the capability and the responsibility to ensure that its advertising ecosystem does not become a conduit for dishonest practices.

I look forward to your response and to seeing meaningful action taken to address this issue.

 Yours faithfully, Alan Hedley