Are you feeling screwed after advertising with Yahoo!, Overture, or GoTo.com (YOGO)?

The class action pack suing YOGO says this is your chance to take back what’s yours… or at least a little bit of it.

Sign on to the proposed Pay-Per-Click fraud (PPC) settlement, and you’ll get… pay very close attention… the opportunity to submit proof that you were screwed. If Yahoo! agrees, you’ll be rewarded with… advertising credits. With Yahoo!. The folks you thought screwed you in the first place.

What does Yahoo! get in return for its magnanimity? Release from any and all PPC claims against YOGO (or anyone who ever heard of YOGO) by you, for everything that happened between 1998 and 31 July 2006… Or at least, that’s the way I read it.

Now, if jumping through a bunch of hoops for the possibility of picking up a small gratuity makes sense to you, sign up for MXC (Most Extreme Challenge) on SpikeTV. Failing that, you might get lucky with the Yahoo! settlement.

On the other hand, if this sounds to you like an expensive wax job, where you pick up the tab for getting whacked… you’d better hustle over to www.checkmatesettlement.com and bail out. Failure to do so by 14 October 2006 means you’re barred from chasing YOGO for the rest of your natural life… or at least that’s the way I read it.

Wondering why any self-respecting counsel representing you would fold so easily? Cynic.

Kabateck Brown Kellner LLP worked their hearts out for you… They talked themselves silly. And all they’ll have to show for all that caring is four million nine hundred fifty thousand dollars… plus $25,000 to cover their costs.

Shame on you.

fyi: Want to learn more about Pay-Per-Click fraud? Check out the Email Battles Backgrounder: