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| Yahoo! Inc. announced it has reached a settlement agreement with Checkmate Strategic Group, will consider refunding money to advertisers dating back to January 2004 and plans pay $4.95 million in attorney fees to settle a class action.5 u8 s1 M& |* z, B 
 4 L5 L- a# U0 aCheckmate Strategic Group filed a lawsuit alleging that Yahoo has been profiting from bogus sales referrals generated through click fraud.
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 2 o; l% P4 ?0 M- R; m- X5 bYahoo's ad revenue totaled $9.1 billion from January 2004 through March of this year, the Associated Press reported.4 Z5 ?$ \# A. D7 |: ]6 I
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 The AP also noted that some studies have estimated that Yahoo's click fraud rate is 30 percent, a number which Yahoo has disputed.
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 ! y; J% D# J! R) A. m0 QTo address the click fraud concern, Yahoo has initiated a claims system.% F+ M& t$ k( }* g) R$ P3 [: R
 
 \  U& h  b3 F# s* ]4 y$ i7 N"Yahoo will offer advertisers a one-time extended claims period during which advertisers can submit click fraud claims for clicks dating back through January 2004. If our investigation determines that a credit is due that was not given previously, we will issue a 100 percent credit, which can be used however the advertiser wishes to use it. This claims process will be overseen by a retired Federal judge," according to a Yahoo company statement.( I0 @' t2 W( w" o) w! q" O
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 In March 2006, Yahoo competitor Google agreed to pay $90 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the company, along with other web search companies, billed advertisers for false customer leads.
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