Collaboration, Information and Action in the Fight Against Ad Fraud

The complex and dynamic nature of the digital advertising industry has created opportunities for criminals to defraud advertisers and consumers. As the industry evolves, so do the tactics criminals employ to target digital advertising dollars.  Fighting advertising fraud in all its forms requires collaboration, information and action. The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) and its members are at the forefront of this effort.  The level of industry action this week alone demonstrates the commitment our industry has to winning the war against advertising fraud.

Earlier this week TAG joined with Google and other leading ad platforms to announce a new program to block illegitimate and non-human ad traffic originating from data centers.  Data center traffic is one of many types of nonhuman or illegitimate ad traffic, and this new program will complement TAG’s recently-announced Fraud Threat List, through which companies share web domains that are sources of fraudulent traffic.  In launching the pilot program, TAG will initially use Google’s database of data center IP addresses and enhance it based upon broader industry intelligence. Other companies joining this phase of the project include Dstillery, Facebook, MediaMath, Quantcast, Rubicon Project, The Trade Desk, TubeMogul, and Yahoo.

Yesterday, Forensiq, a member of TAG's Anti-Fraud Working Group, released a report identifying over 5,000 apps that are secretly running ads on Apple and Android devices that users can’t see, defrauding advertisers of approximately $850 million per year. This groundbreaking research shines a light on an area that both advertisers and the criminals who target them view as a new frontier.

The Anti-Fraud Working Group has been examining the issue of fraud in mobile apps and was briefed on the Forensiq research earlier this week. We applaud this significant contribution to the fight against ad fraud and encourage industry participants to review and act on its findings.

Ad Age reports that Google, which is also a member of the Anti-Fraud Working Group, has taken swift action by suspending numerous apps from its Play store.  TAG applauds Google’s quick response and commitment to combatting ad fraud.

It's been a big week for fighting ad fraud.  This week’s activity demonstrates the level of industry communication, research, collaboration, and ACTION to fight fraud. With this incredible display of commitment, I have no doubt the industry will win the war against criminal activity in the digital supply chain.

Mike Zaneis, CEO, Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG)
www.tagtoday.net