Display ad fraud is easy to commit by bad guys who put up websites, load tons of ads on each page, and then repeatedly load the pages to generate ad impressions. They call this ad inventory that they sell into the ad networks.

1. Augustine Fou- 1 -
What Display
Fraud Looks Like
Dr. Augustine Fou
http://linkd.in/augustinefou
acfou @mktsci .com
June 2014

2. Augustine Fou- 2 -
19 blocked ads on page
Bad Guys Put Up Sites
site = analyzecanceradvice .com
site = missomoms.com

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Load Tons of Ads on Pages
http://interiorcom plex.com/
http://modernbab y.com/

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Load Ads in Hidden iFrames
Augustine Fou- 4 -
Source: Spider.io May 2, 2013
Ads are hidden in up to
72 layers
Entire web pages are
loaded into ad iframes to
boost impressions
Multiple redirects and
auto page refreshes

5. Augustine Fou- 5 -
Fake their “Viewability”
Augustine Fou- 5 -
Source: Spider.io May 2, 2013
Ads are above the
fold of the page
But their pixel
opacity can be set
to zero (invisible)
Entire web pages
stuffed into ad
iframe; ads counted
as viewable

6. Augustine Fou- 6 -
Use Bots to Load the Pages
Source: Wired
Source: Google Digital Attack Map

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Sell Impressions on Exchanges
“Modernbaby.com and Interiorcomplex.com
Each of these sites peddles enormous traffic on the
exchanges. For example, on a recent day Modern
Baby was offering 19 million impressions via one
exchange (quite the baby boom) and Interior
Complex 30 million [ad impressions PER DAY] (the
roaring housing market must be back).”
Source:
Adweek – Suspicious Web Domains Cost Online Ad
Business $400m per Year
By Mike Shields

8. Augustine Fou- 8 -
Where Fake Impressions Come From
Source: Integral Ad Science, via BusinessWeek Nov 26, 2013
Ad exchanges are particularly prone to fraud because shady sites sell enormous
quantities “ad impression inventory” into the exchanges for re-sale.

9. Augustine Fou- 9 -
Dr. Augustine Fou – Digital Consigliere
“I research ad fraud so I can advise
clients on how to detect and mitigate it.
This has the most direct mpact on the
ROI of their digital marketing
programs.”
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
@acfou
ClickZ Articles: http://bit.ly/augustine-fou-clickz
Slideshares: http://bit.ly/augustine-fou-slideshares
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/today/author/84444-augustinefou

10. Augustine Fou- 10 -
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Augustine Fou- 10 -
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