Bad guys have both the opportunity and motive for large scale digital ad fraud, especially as the industry and big advertisers continue to let it happen. It will take a coordinated effort among various stakeholders to put a dent in this global plague.

1. Opportunity and
Motive for Digital
Ad Fraud
Dr. Augustine Fou
http://linkd.in/augustinefou
acfou @mktsci .com
February 2014
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Augustine Fou

2. Opportunity
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3. Rise of Programmatic
As a greater proportion
of ads are bought and
sold automatically and
by algorithm through ad
exchanges, it has
become far easier for
bad guys to ―sell‖ fake
traffic and impression
inventory to
unsuspecting, mainstrea
m brand advertisers.
Source: Digital Citizens
Alliance Study, Feb 2014
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4. Motive
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5. Extremely Profitable
“Highly Lucrative, Profitable
The aggregate ad revenue for the
sample of 596 sites was an
estimated $56.7 million for Q3 of
2013, projecting out to $226.7
million dollars annually, with
average profit margins of
83%, ranging from 80% to as
high as 94%.‖
Source: Digital Citizens Alliance
Study, Feb 2014
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Augustine Fou

6. Humans Not
Required
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7. Algo-Generated Sites
Source: more screen captures
http://picturesandbox.com/screengrab/grouped.php
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8. Algo-Generated Pages
Characteristics
• Auto-generated by
bots, stuffed with search
keywords
• To attract organic search traffic
• Not human readable (low
instance of natural phrases)
• Stuffed with affiliate links and
display ads
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9. Bad Guys Put Up Sites
site = analyzecanceradvice .com
site = missomoms.com
19 blocked ads on page
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10. Load Tons of Ads
http://modernbab y.com/
http://interiorcom plex.com/
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11. Load Pages with Bots
Source: Google Digital Attack Map
Source: Wired
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12. Bots Type Search Term
healthsiteproduc tionalways.com
buy eye cream online
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13. Bots Click Search Ad
Olay.com ad
in #1 position
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14. Motive for Video
Ad Fraud
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15. Video Ads Are Lucrative
Video ad CPMs
are $8 $12, which
means they are
more than 10X
more lucrative
than display or
mobile ads.
Source: Turn, Inc.
October 2013
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Augustine Fou

16. Ad Revenue Share
YouTube Ends The 'Sweetheart Deals'
Enjoyed By TV And Film Studios
YouTube restructured the terms in partnerships it has with TV
networks and major film studios. The new terms put an end to
"sweetheart deals," wherein TV and film producers would keep up to
70% of ad revenues — now their share has been reduced to
55%. YouTube says it hopes to have all its partnerships, which
includes CBS and Warner Bros., transitioned to the new revenue split
by January 2014.
Source: BusinessInsider November 4, 2013
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17. Partner Channels
Source: comScore July 17, 2013
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18. Display and Video Ads
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19. Video Ad Budget Wasted
In other
words, the
clients' ads had
been placed on
porn sites, and
the clicks they
generated were
disguised to look
like traffic from
mainstream web
brands.
Source:
Business Insider
Dec 2013
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20. Ad Fraud Detection
and Mitigation
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21. Digital Ad Forensics Process
Preliminary Scan
Sizing of
ad fraud
Forensic Analysis
Maintenance
• Technology Tools
• Statistical analysis
• Budget shifts
• Further optimization
Implementation
FREE
$$$
$
Preliminary analysis of
paid campaigns and
analytics to determine
magnitude of the ad
fraud impacting client.
Creating recommended
list of
changes, including list
of sites to exclude in
each ad channel.
Subscribe to
triangulated, cross-industry
database of ―ad fraud
offenders‖ to continuously
update blacklists and
whitelists.
Augustine Fou
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22. Dr. Augustine Fou – Digital Forensics
“I advise clients on optimizing
advertising across all channels. Using
advanced technical forensic techniques
and custom tchnology tools, we detect
and mitigate ad fraud and waste.”
FORMER CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, HCG (OMNICOM)
MCKINSEY CONSULTANT
CLIENT SIDE / AGENCY SIDE EXPERIENCE
PROFESSOR AND COLUMNIST
ENTREPRENEUR / SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
PHD MATERIALS SCIENCE (MIT '95) AT AGE 23
ClickZ Articles: http://bit.ly/augustine-fou-clickz
Slideshares: http://bit.ly/augustine-fou-slideshares
LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/augustinefou
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@acfou
Augustine Fou

23. Related Articles
Digital Ad Fraud Briefing
By: Augustine Fou December 2013
Fake YouTube Videos
By: Augustine Fou, December 2013
How Display Fraud Works
By: Augustine Fou, May 2013
Fake Linkedin Profiles
By: Augustine Fou, December 2013
How Click Fraud Works
By: Augustine Fou, November 2013
Fake Facebook Profiles
By: Augustine Fou, Dec 2013
The Magnitude of Digital Ad Fraud
By: Augustine Fou, November 2013
Fake Twitter Accounts
By: Augustine Fou, August 2013
ROI Case for Solving Ad Fraud
By: Augustine Fou January 2014
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Augustine Fou