AppsFlyer, the global attribution leader, today released its annual fraud report: The State of Mobile Advertising Fraud 2020 Edition 保加利亚电话号码表. As most mobile advertisers are increasingly aware of the dangers of app install fraud, the new AppsFlyer’s report illustrates the global impact, including details on how ad fraud on Android is more than 4.5 times higher than on iOS, and financial exposure for apps in the Finance sector is $ 630 million in the first 2020 semester.
“The decrease in the overall fraud rate represents the increased awareness in the market. However, the fraud will not go away anytime soon. Vigilance is crucial as fraud methods are constantly evolving and adapting to market solutions. Staying protected by applying sophisticated anti-fraud solutions remains a necessity for all marketers, ”says Michel Hayet, AppsFlyer’s fraud expert. “With this report, advertisers have an idea of why fraud rates are declining and how they can continue to protect their brands even when new fraud methods emerge.”
Key insights from the report
Global financial exposure to app install fraud in the first half of 2020 was $ 1.6 billion, a 30% year-over-year decrease. This is the result of a clear drop in the overall app install fraud rate, which averaged 13.2% in the first half of 2020.
- Gaming apps are having great success in beating fraud. 32% of non-organic installs are fraudulent among non-game apps, while game apps have a much lower rate: 3.8%
–Among the non-gaming verticals, Finance (48%) and Travel (45%) suffer the highest levels of fraud, due to their high cost-per-install rates and large marketing budgets.
- Android is the platform of choice for scammers. The fraud rate in the installation of applications on Android is 4.5 times higher than on iOS. Android devices dominate the world in terms of market share and have fewer app restrictions, making them more likely targets.
- Bot attacks continue to dominate. 62% of fraudulent installations are the result of bot attacks. However, other methods, such as install hijacking (especially for gaming apps) and click flooding, are on the rise. Click floods reached 21% in the APAC region.
- Post-attribution fraud is on the rise. This type of advanced fraud – installations that cannot be blocked in real time – climbed to 24% globally in January and February, and in the US it reached 51% of applications in March. There has also been a substantial increase in app fraud, especially among gaming apps, as scammers observe lucrative cost-per-action (CPA) payments in addition to cost-per-install (CPI) payments.
“Although the mobile advertising industry has grown exponentially to adequately defend against ad fraud, the potential amount of harm remains extremely high and scammers will always want a piece of the cake,” said Doug McMillen, VP of Business Strategy at AppsFlyer. “As businesses and consumers continue to turn to mobile apps for daily tasks and entertainment, advertisers must remain vigilant in their efforts to leverage these key insights on ad fraud to not only keep scammers at bay, but also to limit the exposure of your financial resources as new fraud methods emerge. ‘
The coronavirus effect
The only significant exception to the downward trend in ad fraud occurred in March, as COVID-19 forced many countries to implement strict quarantines. As people stayed home, the demand for mobile apps skyrocketed, leading to aggressive user acquisition activity, and scammers tried to take advantage of the situation. As a result, the fraud rate in March increased by almost 25% compared to February. These attack attempts were unsuccessful, leading to a similar drop the following month 社交帖子.
