Click Mob has recently released a new report that looks at click fraud, among other things, and how it is impacting the ad industry. The report found that ad fraud resulted in about $8.2 billion in lost money for advertisers. It also led to a growing sense of distrust of much of the ad industry. While digital advertising is still effective and affordable, as prices continue to climb, companies that use digital ads are either going to be demanding a greater effort in the fight against fraud, or they will reduce their investment in this area.
Where Are the Fraudulent Ads?
One important aspect of this report is that it breaks down a variety of different things to look at where the greatest risk of fraud occurs.
The report identified five countries in particular that were targeted by ad fraud. The top five countries that are victims of ad fraud are Japan, Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and with the greatest rate of ad fraud, Singapore.
“Even as new standards for viewability measurements have been introduced by the Media Rating Council (MRC), fraudulent advertisers have developed ways to impersonate viewability measurements and meet the newly established standards,” said the study.
iOS users are also up to 50% more at risk of experiencing ad fraud than those who use Android devices. This is likely because advertisers typically have to pay higher rates on iOS devices, which then attracts the fraudulent ads because they are looking for as high a payout as possible.
“Mobile app users in Japan are high value, and therefore are likely more targeted by fraudsters because the payout is high,” said the study. There is also a consistent pattern across both device types with Japan, Singapore, and the United States as the top targets, it added.
However, there also exists a critical unique difference when it comes to device type susceptibility in various regions. On iOS, Saudi Arabia ranked second in attempted ad fraud cases, accounting for 6% of the detected fraudulent activity. On Android, Malaysia claimed second place, accounting for 8%.
The verticals that are most at risk include games, lifestyle, shopping, travel, and sports. The games vertical is significantly higher than any of the others, but that is likely because it is the most popular ad supported type of app available today.
