On Nov 18, 2019 - The Mobile Marketing Association, a global Non-Profit Organization, had released a Benchmark Report on the state of Mobile Ad Fraud in India. This gave us a more in-depth insight into the level of fraud and its awareness in the country.

With a wayward rate of 62%, Mobile Ad Fraud is one of the biggest bottlenecks for mobile advertising in India. The Benchmark Report was published in collaboration with Decision Labs (a research firm) to discern the current practices around ad fraud and the detection and prevention techniques adopted by advertisers. The report aimed to educate the advertisers on the various forms of ad fraud in the industry.

The report also highlights the widespread issues rising in the industry, such as Adware traffic, Ad Stacking, Domain Spoofing, etc., to benchmark advertisers on the challenges and measures to tackle ad fraud efficiently.

On the Topic of ‘Why We Need More Awareness of Ad Fraud in the Nation’, Moneka Khurana, Country Head, MMA India, said -

 “In India, awareness on ad fraud risks is very low with almost a fifth of the marketers being unclear of their ad fraud budget and the majority of them believing that fraudulent activities will only increase. Brand safety on mobile is the biggest concern today and this benchmark report clearly demonstrates this needs immediate addressal. Marketers will need to be extra cautious to attacks such as ad injections, data fraud, cookie stuffing. Marketers must understand the potential of technologies such as Blockchain that can help solve issues related to fraud and create security and transparency in the mobile marketing ecosystem.”

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Following are the key takeaways from the report: 

• With a rate of 62%, Mobile Ad Fraud remains one of India's biggest challenges.
• Indian marketers spend nearly 20% of their advertising budget on ad fraud.|
• 9/10 marketers feel there is scope for improvement in ad fraud prevention methods.
• 95% of respondents feel that the lack of penalties and transparency in industry regulations give rise to ad fraud.
• 95% of respondents agree that the lack of data sharing and a large number of middlemen are also a cause of ad fraud risks.‍
• Major types of Ad Fraud – Cookie Stuffing (74%), Adware Traffic (65%), Data Fraud (61%), Ad Injection (54%).

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With the rising prevalent ad fraud in India, the advertising industry should be aware of the various methods needed to eradicate ad fraud. Learn about Botman's vision and efforts for the same.

More on ad fraud issues and its impact on the Indian Advertising Industry:

- The Story of Ad Fraud Tolerance in India

- The Dark Side of Digital Advertising‍