Conquering mobile app fraud as data-driven mobile marketing takes India by storm

Authored by April Tayson, Regional VP - INSEAU, Adjust.

India is among the top download markets in the world. In fact, by 2022 India had the second-highest number of mobile app downloads in the world. However, mobile ad fraud poses a huge challenge for the majority of mobile advertisers in India. With multiple reports suggesting billions in losses to marketers every year due to ad fraud, it’s essential for marketers to be vigilant and put preventative measures into place.

What is mobile ad fraud?

Mobile ad fraud uses ad technology to intentionally target and drain app marketers’ ad spends. This is why fraud detection and prevention are critical to successful growth strategies. Mobile ad fraud comes in four primary forms:

Click spamming - Fraudsters perform clicks in the background without the user’s intent or knowledge, either on a mobile web page or within an app. They then claim credit for these false clicks, gaining the ad revenue themselves.
Click injection - Fraudsters use an app to inform them when other apps are downloaded on the user’s Android phone. They then inject an engagement just before the app is opened so they are credited with installation. This method allows fraudsters to poach both organic installs and installs driven by genuine advertising.
SDK spoofing - Fraudsters use real device data to create seemingly legitimate installs or clicks. To do this, they break into the SSL encryption of communication between a tracking SDK and its backend servers, then uncover the data representing specific engagements. With this data, they experiment until they successfully achieve a tracked click, install, or other engagement.
Fake installs - Fraudsters create fake app installs, conversion events, and other engagements using device farms or emulated devices. Traditional device farms with workers sitting in front of smartphones and manually faking installs paved the way for new, intelligent device farms. Now, fraudsters use a range of devices pre-programmed with specific actions to closely replicate the behavior of real users.

Why do you need mobile ad fraud prevention?

The practice of mobile ad fraud is constantly transforming as technology evolves. However, its impact is always the same: It drains advertising budgets and tarnishes campaign data. In turn, advertisers continue to invest in advertising that is relatively ineffective. Preventing mobile ad fraud has a number of benefits:

Budget protection: With campaign spending reaching the thousands or sometimes millions, it is paramount to make sure your marketing campaign budget is protected against being drained on dead-end leads.
Clean data: Expose dubious traffic sources to make sure you’re making strategic decisions based on accurate data.
Filtered traffic: Identify low-quality traffic sources so you can determine the preferred partners that are right for you.
Security: In a time where data privacy is top of mind for consumers, it’s critical to secure user data.
Competitive advantage: Acquire real, valuable users and spend efficiently to get an edge over competitors.

How to spot mobile ad fraud

A mobile measurement partner (MMP) which offers fraud prevention is the easiest way to not only detect but proactively shield against fraud. These are a few of the red flags they look out for:

Flat click to install time (CTIT) distribution

Conversion times from fraudulent sources are distributed flatly because the spammer can trigger the click but not the install.

New device rates (NDRs) above 20% of the campaign’s activity

As device farms continually reset device IDs, keeping an eye on your typical NDR range per campaign will help you identify anomalies.

Suspicious IP addresses

Fraudsters often reroute traffic through proxies or VPNs, and the resulting IP addresses are typically registered to anonymizing services or data centers.

To support India’s growing appetite for apps, it’s more important than ever for marketers to become familiar with the signs of mobile fraud and establish partnerships with fraud detection and prevention solutions.