Programmatic ad fraud. It’s a persistent itch, a drain on budgets everyone pretends to understand but few truly tackle. We’re talking billions, folks. $26.8 billion globally, according to the ANA, lost to supply chain chaos, shady inventory, and outright deception. CTV, that shiny new darling of advertising, has become the latest playground for the digitally dishonest.
The real shocker? Most marketers think the biggest threat is some super-slick bot. Nope. The real danger is complacency. Believing your DSP, your agency, your partner has it all under control. That’s how money just… disappears. Not in one dramatic heist, but a thousand tiny leaks, campaign after campaign.
Surfacing this rot doesn’t require a PhD in cybersecurity. It requires asking the right questions. And then, critically, demanding actual answers. Especially as your ads hop from display to video to the Wild West of CTV.
Where is my ad actually running?
This seems basic, right? But the programmatic supply chain is a labyrinth. It’s a tangled mess of middlemen, exchanges, resellers, and verification layers. The longer this chain, the less you know about where your money goes. On display, it’s about pages. Ask about the supply path. Direct from the publisher? Or through a dozen anonymous hops? Push for transparency on ad density, refresh rates, content quality. The good stuff.
Video adds another layer. What kind of player loaded your ad? A discreet corner player or a prime pre-roll? They can hit your invoice the same, but they’re not the same impression. And CTV? Forget pages. We’re talking apps. Which app loaded the impression? Was it really that app? Bad actors spoof devices and apps. They’re running ads on server farms disguised as Roku or Fire TV. Demand specifics on app-level and device-level verification. Which apps are actually getting your money?
Who is verifying the traffic?
For display, bot detection is pretty mature. Most DSPs have decent filters. Video is tougher. More environments, more variables. Viewability tracking is fine, but catching bots that act too human? That’s the trick.
And CTV? It’s the soft underbelly. History shows us this: when a channel grows fast, detection lags behind. Fraudsters follow the cash. DoubleVerify flagged bot-driven activity at 65% for CTV fraud. Four million infected devices, churning out fake impressions daily.
Fewer independent vendors can reliably police CTV. The scammers know it. Don’t accept a vague “fraud is filtered.” Ask who’s doing the filtering. Ask for the numbers. How many CTV impressions were junked last quarter? If they can’t tell you, you’re hearing a story, not a report.
“If no one can produce that number, you’re not being measured, you’re being told a story.”
Is someone actually looking at the placement data?
Look, nobody wants to drown in placement reports. That’s why you hire partners. But you should know what they’re looking at, how often, and what they do when something smells fishy. For display, site-level data should be table stakes. If your partner gives you summaries without naming the sites, demand more. Or find a new partner.
For video and CTV, it’s about the environment. Is the ad running in an appropriate context? Who’s to say? The answer should be your partner. They need to be scrutinizing placement data, not just accepting it.
Are your partners’ incentives aligned with yours?
This is the unspoken truth. Are your partners truly working to minimize fraud, or are they just ticking boxes? Do they benefit from volume over quality? Many partners—agencies, DSPs—make money on a percentage of media spend. More spend, more revenue. This creates a subtle, sometimes not-so-subtle, pressure to keep the money flowing, even if some of it is going to bots.
Ask about their fee structure. Does it incentivize efficiency and transparency? Are they penalized for delivering fraudulent impressions? A truly aligned partner will be as aggressive in fighting fraud as you are. They’ll be proactive, not just reactive. They’ll be the ones asking you these questions, pushing for cleaner inventory. If they aren’t, they might just be part of the problem.
This isn’t rocket science. It’s basic due diligence. Stop assuming. Start asking. Your budget depends on it.
