TAG, or the Trustworthy Accountability Group, has released information about their new anti-fraud certification program, which has been being prepared for about 18 months now. The system is set up to make it so their members can earn a ‘seal’ only after proving that they follow a variety of industry best practices.
The system is not easy to get into, which was done intentionally. They are clearly looking to build a system that involves only the most reputable publishers and advertisers. This type of system is a great option for fighting ad fraud since it allows reputable brands and publishers to come together to help avoid any type of fraud or other unwanted activity.
TAG was built with input and assistance from a variety of sources including the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Association of National Advertisers and the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
Mike Zaneis, the president and CEO of TAG, commented saying, “We need to vet everyone who participates to make sure they’re legitimate and we’re not letting criminals in.”
This can be more difficult than it sounds since the ‘best’ criminals out there are quite proficient at making their traffic or advertisements look completely legitimate to even high end scans. With this in mind those looking to join must go through a full background check and have a dedicated compliance officer working to help ensure they meet the industry guidelines. In addition, they must agree that any non-human traffic that is found will be removed.
Publishers also have to go through a difficult process to get into the group including the background check and more.
They also must take steps to filter out questionable traffic as well as data center traffic. TAG has been developing a list of this type of traffic that needs to be blocked. The list is provided to members so that they can have it filtered out. Of course, this list is constantly being updated with the latest information gathered to help minimize the risk of poor quality traffic.
Zaneis later said, “We’re looking to create a robust system where lots of companies are living up to the standard, regardless of their size. That’s how we’ll keep putting pressure on fraudsters to make it harder and harder for them to sneak through.”
