Fight against the Rise of Mobile Ad Fraud

Fight against the Rise of Mobile Ad Fraud

With mobile advertising being the core of online advertising, the fraudsters are now targeting mobile ads instead of web advertising. Mainly the “click to download” ads have become a golden goose for the mobile ad industry.

So, what do advertisers, agencies/intermediaries and publishers should do to prevent mobile ad fraud?

What is mobile ad fraud?

Mobile ad fraud happens when the impressions or clicks are caused by a robot. This can even occur when a malicious code is operating through a genuine device. The fake advertiser or fake publisher makes money every single time an ad is clicked, despite no human being has viewed it.

Why is mobile ad fraud on the rise?

Arguably, mobile ad fraud has been plaguing the ad industry for over a decade. Poorly designed ad formats are to be held responsible for this rise. Many at times what seems to be ad fraud need not be so. Often unintended clicks are triggered by incorrectly clicking an ad in an attempt to close it.

Be it the bad design or nasty intention of the advertiser or publisher, these ads attract flawed or bogus clicks.

Below are the top ways to identify and fight mobile ad fraud.

1.           Acceptance of the problem

Mobile ad fraud has divided the ad industry into two– those who have a say on ad fraud and those who don’t. However, the “no comments” club is thus far the largest. The industry needs to understand that it’s important to accept the problem first, in order to eradicate it.

2.           Ad fraud is everyone’s liability

Blaming someone else is easy in case of ad fraud, but it is everyone’s duty to take required measures to make sure fraud ads are prevented. Everybody needs to encourage and persuade others to do the same.

3.           Prepare an anti-fraud policy

Every digital ad company should hire an anti-fraud manager to guarantee brand safety. Anti-fraud manager’s responsibilities should include:

·             Setting up the ad fraud policy.

·             Educating people about ad fraud problems.

·             Reassessing how ads are bought and ROI is measured.

·             Reviewing the tools to identify and combat fraud.

·             Declining to pay for ads that are suspected to be frauds.

4.           Study and stick to the ad fraud guidelines

Even though there are many guidelines available for online ad fraud but there are none particularly for mobile ad fraud. Online and mobile ad fraud have some differences (mostly mobile ad app fraud), but most of the ideologies are alike. Follow the existing web fraud policy to keep fraud to a minimum.

5.           Make sure that your associates stick to ad fraud guidelines

Industry experts mostly advise companies to make sure that the associates follow the industry guidelines and have appropriate policies in place. They rarely ask to focus on the ad certification tools or services to prevent fraudulent activities.

6.           Re-evaluate how media is being purchased and ROI is calculated

ROI is the proof that your marketing techniques are working. As fraudsters have become cleverer, advertisers have now decided to measure ROI with cost per acquisition (CPA) or cost per app installation (CPI), instead of cost per click (CPC). However, there are malwares that can easily download apps on compromised mobile devices or emulators.

7.           Ask for transparency and mobile traffic authentication

Most advertisers admit that transparency in media buy is a great idea. But the problem is that they seldom purchase from a publisher directly. It has become common to have an agent/ intermediary purchase media on behalf of the advertiser. Because of this complexity, advertisers have zero or slight idea of where their ads are running in the market.

8.           Obvious signs of ad fraud

The most obvious sign of fraud is the cost. If the price of the ad is significantly cheaper than the ongoing market rate, chances are that it is fraudulent.

Advertisers should never force agencies to purchase cheaper media. That’s why it is essential for agencies teach their customers how to prevent fraud ads.

9.           Publishers need to be watchful

Publishers that are showing the ads need to be equally vigilant as the advertisers. They must be educated about the threats of purchasing cheap media. The problem is that many publishers try to increase their viewers by buying cheap traffic from the agencies and there are high chances that this traffic is triggered by the robots.

10.      Only choose certified ad partners

Publishers should only partner with certified ad agencies. The most reputable Media Rating Council (MRC) certifies companies that filter out general invalid traffic (GIVT), including mobile ad fraud. Lately, the MRC has started rewarding agencies for Sophisticated Invalid Traffic Detection/Filtration (SIVT).

Mobile is the most influential way of advertising and it allows advertisers to connect with their customers in the best way. To maintain its impact, ad industry needs to take on ad fraud problems before it is too late. Only quality mobile advertising is capable of ensuring that the users are having free access to top quality content. Now, ad industry’s top priority should be to save the internet from fraud mobile ads.