Smaato is committed to creating a protected mobile marketplace, where both publishers and advertisers are safe from external threats. To achieve this, we deploy a multi-faceted strategy that includes employing an in-house team of experts, partnering with leading tech partners, and fostering transparent discussions about the risks of fraud. Beyond those measures, it’s essential to take significant steps to combat fraud. To that end, Smaato is now the first in-app advertising exchange to receive the Certified Against Fraud seal from the Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG).
TAG is a cross-industry accountability program dedicated to increasing transparency in the digital advertising industry. Receiving the TAG Certified Against Fraud seal means that we are committed to eliminating fraud by following strict guidelines. Some of the requirements for receiving the certification include IP blacklisting, complying with the Media Rating Council’s invalid traffic detection and filtration requirements, and implementing payment ID systems.
Smaato has long deployed these and other methods to combat fraud and communicate with partners, so seeking TAG’s anti-fraud certification made a lot of sense. This certification is the latest step we’ve taken to offer a safe ecosystem to everyone using the Smaato platform.
With mobile advertising so popular, it’s more important than ever to protect publishers and advertisers from fraud. In-app usage as measured by ad requests increased 32% year-over-year according to data on the Smaato Platform. With brands increasingly focused on in-app, now is an especially critical time to build trust and confidence.
As part of our anti-fraud efforts, a study was recently commissioned to gauge the amount of fraud both industry-wide and on the Smaato platform. The research showed that in-app advertising is significantly safer than mobile web advertising. In-app experienced 25% less fraudulent attempts than mobile web. Furthermore, Smaato experienced 40% fewer in-app fraud attempts compared to industry peers.
At Smaato, we know there is no simple solution to combat fraud. Rather, we’ve found that our comprehensive three-pronged approach is effective. This approach includes:
- In-House Technology: The first line of defense against fraud is technology. Our proprietary algorithms supplemented by machine learning automatically detects and blocks suspicious behavior.
- A Team of Experts: People are what makes the technology really work. Our experts located in our three main regions (Americas, APAC, and EMEA) confirm and eliminate threats.
- Industry-Leading Partners: We partner with third-party vendors to strengthen our defense against threats to ad and traffic quality.
Defending against fraud isn’t one-time effort, as it requires constant evolution and vigilance. Being TAG certified also isn’t a one-off process, as it requires continued effort to maintain certification. That aligns perfectly with Smaato’s long-standing commitment to creating and supporting a protected mobile marketplace.
To learn more about how to combat fraud in the programmatic ecosystem, we invite you to read our whitepaper, “Understanding In-App Advertising Fraud.”
