I encountered a sponsored advertisement in my AOL Mail inbox on August 5, 2026, displayed under the name "Kethly Smith" and labeled "Ad."

I intended to select the item using what appeared to be the checkbox on the left side of the row and report it as spam. Instead, clicking in that area immediately opened a webpage displaying fake virus/trojan warnings and a phone number to call for technical support.

I did not call the number or download any software. After investigating, my computer was scanned with both Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes, and no threats were found.

My concern is that the advertisement appeared to make the left side of the row—including what looked like the checkbox area—behave as a clickable advertisement. Later the same day, other AOL Mail advertisements (Comcast Business and Xfinity) did not display checkboxes in the same location.

I have screenshots of both the original advertisement and the later advertisements for comparison. I would appreciate it if you would investigate whether this advertising campaign or its click behavior could mislead users into unintentionally opening malicious content.