An email has been sent to your address with instructions for changing your password.
There is no user registered with this email.
Sign Up
To create a free account, please fill out the form below.
Thank you for signing up!
A confirmation email has been sent to your email address. Please check your email and follow the instructions in the message to complete the registration process. If you do not receive the email, please check your spam folder or contact us for assistance.
Welcome to our platform!
Oops!
Something went wrong while trying to create your new account. Please try again and if the problem persist, Email Us to receive support.
Holiday Ad Fraud on the Rise: CTV Advertising Threatened as Fraud on Unprotected Programmatic CTV Inventory Reaches Almost 20%
Rhea-AI Impact
(Neutral)
Rhea-AI Sentiment
(Very Negative)
Tags
Rhea-AI Summary
DoubleVerify (NYSE: DV) has released alarming new data indicating a significant increase in advertising fraud during the 2021 holiday season. With online video ad spending projected to reach $62 billion globally, up to 6.6% of video ads and 18% of CTV ads were found to be fraudulent or from sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT). The company identified two major fraud schemes—LeoTerra and CelloTerra—that have spiked during the holiday season, impacting ad performance and effectiveness. This highlights the critical need for robust fraud prevention measures in digital advertising.
The company has a strong reputation and experience in combating digital advertising fraud.
Negative
A significant percentage (6.6% for video and 18% for CTV) of ads are fraudulent, undermining campaign effectiveness.
Fraudulent activity has increased compared to the previous year, indicating a worsening trend.
New data from DoubleVerify also shows a holiday spike in two CTV fraud schemes
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
DoubleVerify (“DV”) (NYSE: DV), a leading software platform for digital media measurement, data and analytics, today released new data on the prevalence of advertising fraud in online video and streaming amid the 2021 holiday season, undermining media quality and campaign effectiveness. DV analyzes over two billion ad impressions per day, identifying comprehensive fraud and sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT) from hijacked devices to bot-based fraud and injected ads.
(Graphic: Business Wire)
Unprotected Inventory at Risk
As digital video and streaming viewership continues to skyrocket, so too does ad spend. Globally, spending on online video will reach $62 billion this year,1 while CTV investments will approach $17 billion.2 The holidays, in particular, drive a spike in spend and engagement. Correlated with this trend, DV has seen a significant rise in fraudulent traffic on online video and CTV since mid-October.
In a sampling of unprotected programmatic inventory, DV determined that as much as 6.6% of “video” ads and 18% of “CTV” ads were actually fraud or SIVT.
“The adage holds true, fraud follows the money,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO at DoubleVerify. “The more in-demand and premium the inventory, the more likely it is to attract bad actors. In addition, while fraud normally peaks in Q4, we have found that the volumes this year are already higher compared with Q4 of 2020.”
Streaming Schemes Spike
With spend and engagement on the rise due to the holiday season, DV has identified a spike in two streaming fraud schemes that have been attempting to spoof billions of ad impressions since they began to operate in 2020.
LeoTerra - Uncovered by DV in July 2020, LeoTerra is an SSAI fraud scheme in which fraudsters set up counterfeit SSAI servers and then manufacture CTV inventory across an unlimited number of apps, IPs and devices. DV has found that LeoTerra increased activity with the start of the 2021 holiday season, falsifying up to 20.5 million unique CTV devices per day — over 20x more than the volumes detected at the end of Q4 2020, and nearly 40x more than the last three months’ average.
CelloTerra: Uncovered by DV in March 2020, CelloTerra is a mobile fraud scheme in which fraudsters use mobile apps to run background ads and falsify CTV traffic. The scheme has tripled its number of spoofed CTV devices and fraudulent impressions to maximize ad revenue in Q4.
“As advertisers shift budgets to CTV inventory and platforms, the need to understand performance and measurability across the channel is now more important than ever,” added Zagorski. “Given the growing complexity of these schemes — with fraudsters continuously employing new techniques, the entities representing or selling fraudulent inventory may not be directly responsible or even understand that fraud is taking place.”
Fraud Hurting CTV Holiday Performance
One-quarter of advertisers say CTV ads enable higher conversion rates.3 This is especially critical during the holiday season. Last year saw a record Q4 for direct-response CTV advertising, as marketers tapped into the channel to drive holiday sales and revenue.4 However, for advertising to perform, it must be seen by real people. Fraud has a dramatic impact on campaign performance, misrepresenting impressions and undercutting marketers’ holiday investments.
“Advertisers are trying to get the best bang for their buck during the holiday build up,” added Zagorski. “As CPMs rise, the challenge of illegitimate impressions only makes that squeeze greater.”
DV advertisers and partners are protected from both LeoTerra and CelloTerra. For over a decade, DV has stayed at the forefront of combatting new and emerging types of ad fraud, helping to drive media quality and effectiveness. DV’s fraud solutions cover the entire media transaction — from pre-bid avoidance segments to post-bid monitoring and blocking — and extend to desktop, mobile web, mobile app and CTV. DV’s Fraud Lab, powered by a dedicated team of data scientists, mathematicians and analysts from the cyber-fraud prevention community, is also widely recognized for uncovering new forms of fraud and pinpointing the sites, apps and devices responsible for fraudulent activity.
About DoubleVerify
DoubleVerify is a leading software platform for digital media measurement and analytics. Our mission is to make the digital advertising ecosystem stronger, safer and more secure, thereby preserving the fair value exchange between buyers and sellers of digital media. Hundreds of Fortune 500 advertisers employ our unbiased data and analytics to drive campaign quality and effectiveness, and to maximize return on their digital advertising investments – globally. Learn more at www.doubleverify.com.
1. Zenith Media, Advertising Expenditure Forecasts, 2021
2. GroupM, This Year Next Year, 2021
3. Digiday, The State of CTV Advertising, 2021
4. Adweek, Why CTV Will Be Critical for Driving Q4 Holiday Performance, 2021
What new fraud data did DoubleVerify release for the 2021 holiday season?
DoubleVerify reported a rise in digital advertising fraud, showing that up to 6.6% of video ads and 18% of CTV ads were fraudulent during the 2021 holiday season.
How much is global spending on online video expected to reach this year?
Global spending on online video is projected to reach $62 billion in 2021.
What are the LeoTerra and CelloTerra fraud schemes?
LeoTerra is an SSAI fraud scheme that spoofs CTV inventory, while CelloTerra uses mobile apps to falsify CTV traffic.
How does advertising fraud impact campaign performance?
Advertising fraud misrepresents ad impressions, severely undermining the effectiveness and potential ROI of marketing campaigns.
What percentage of advertisers believe CTV ads lead to higher conversion rates?
One-quarter of advertisers indicate that CTV ads enable higher conversion rates, which is critical during the holiday season.
