Inside a Dark Adtech Empire Fed by Fake CAPTCHAs

Researchers uncovered a resilient malicious adtech ecosystem (VexTrio, LosPollos, TacoLoco and affiliates) that uses domain-cloaking, smartlinks and deceptive push-notification prompts delivered via hacked WordPress sites and traffic-distribution systems to serve pro‑Russian disinformation, scams, and malware (notably DollyWay); investigations link the infrastructure to Russian‑nexus push monetization programs and several Swiss-hosted companies, and recommend blocking browser notifications and tightening publisher controls.