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How Mobile Ad Fraud Drains In-App Budgets — and How to Avoid It
Mobile ad fraud is a hidden drain on your app marketing budget. Traffy, a performance marketing agency specializing in mobile anti-fraud, shares strategies to protect your ad spend and maximize ROI.
Most advertisers don’t lose money due to weak creatives or funnels — they lose it because a significant portion of their in-app traffic is invalid from the very start.
The Scale of the Problem
In Q3 2025, mobile apps experienced approximately 33% IVT (Invalid Traffic), meaning roughly one-third of traffic was fraudulent or invalid. Source: Pixalate — Q3 2025 Global Ad Fraud Benchmark Report.
These numbers aren’t just statistics — they reveal that a huge portion of advertising budgets is being spent not on real users, but on fake traffic, fabricated clicks, and bot-generated installs. And 33% is only an average.
Depending on the traffic source and buying model — particularly in programmatic (DSP) environments — fraud levels can vary dramatically. In some cases, IVT may be as low as 5%, while in others it can reach 50% or more where controls are weak. This means many advertisers are making campaign decisions based on data that was never real to begin with.
What IVT Really Means — And Why It’s Critical
IVT (Invalid Traffic) isn’t just “low-quality traffic.” It is traffic that can never convert into a real user or paying customer.
It includes:
- Bots and automated scripts.
- Click farms and device emulators.
- Hidden impressions and background clicks.
- Fabricated installs and in-app events.
When 33% of traffic is IVT, it means every third dollar you spend is paying for actions that will never generate revenue. Multiple industry studies show that IVT in mobile advertising frequently exceeds 20–30%, and can be significantly higher for certain platforms, GEOs, or traffic types. Fraud is not an edge case. It is a structural risk in in-app advertising.
Why Mobile Ad Fraud Is Getting Smarter
Despite widespread adoption of anti-fraud systems, fraud techniques continue to evolve. Basic bot filtering is no longer enough.
Here are the most common schemes:
- Bot Installs & Bot Activity: automated installs and simulated engagement that mimic user behavior — without real intent or retention.
- Click Injection / Click Hijacking: a fraudulent app intercepts the last click before installation and claims attribution for installs it did not generate.
- Click Spamming / Click Flooding: mass volumes of fake clicks create artificially high activity signals, increasing the probability of stealing organic installs.
- Device Farms & Real Device Spoofing: hundreds or thousands of real devices systematically generate fake installs and events, often rotating identifiers to avoid detection.
- SDK Spoofing & Postback Fraud: fraudsters simulate SDK signals and send fake install or in-app event data directly to attribution systems, making everything appear legitimate.
- In-App Event Spoofing: fabricated postbacks and engagement events appear in reports — but no real user exists behind them.
How to Avoid Wasting Your In-App Budget
Fraud prevention isn’t about paranoia. It’s about systematic verification and disciplined traffic management.
1. Use an MMP With Advanced Anti-Fraud Protection
Rely on trusted mobile measurement partners such as Adjust and AppsFlyer. Enable their built-in fraud detection tools — not just attribution tracking. Attribution without fraud protection is incomplete.
2. Analyze CTIT (Click-to-Install Time): one of the strongest fraud indicators.
- Extremely short CTIT spikes → potential click injection.
- Extremely long and uniform CTIT distributions → potential click flooding.
- Unnaturally consistent timing → possible automation.
3. CTCT (Click to Click Time): a short CTCT (<100 ms) detects script bots and click farms.
4. New Device Rate: if 90%+ of devices are ‘new’ (without history), this indicates farms that are resetting IDFA/GAID.
5. Assisted Installs: a high percentage of assists indicates organic hijacking (Click Flooding).
6. Monitor Behavioral Anomalies:
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Retention curves: fraudsters have learned to fabricate “perfect” retention. Don’t just compare to organic — check retention alongside ROAS or purchases. Retention without revenue usually means bots.
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Payments and Cards: bots can link payment cards and often use large volumes of virtual cards with a $0 balance to pass free trials or card verification checks. Because of this, KPIs such as “card attachment” or even “trial start” become unreliable and can create a false sense of performance. The only truly meaningful indicators in this case are the rebill rate (subscription renewal rate) and the actual payment success rate. If you see 1,000 trials but zero successful charges, that is a clear sign of fraud. If users install the app but never behave like real users at the revenue level, something is clearly wrong.
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Event depth.
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Session duration.
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Purchase timing.
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LTV distribution.
- Work Systematically With Blacklists and Whitelists
Fraud control is not just about blocking traffic. It’s about controlled scaling.
- Build placement-level blacklists.
- Identify reliable publishers and scale via whitelists.
- Continuously audit sub-publishers.
- Remove suspicious sources early.
- Infrastructure
- Datacenter IP: Installs coming from hosting provider ranges (AWS, DigitalOcean, Hetzner) = 100% block.
- Geo Mismatch: Click from India, install from the US = fraud.
How to Win Against Fraud
With up to 33% of in-app traffic being invalid, many advertisers aren’t just underperforming — they’re paying for illusions. Fraud can masquerade as growth, but the real advantage comes from knowing which traffic is real. At Traffy, we specialize in mobile anti-fraud and help advertisers ensure every dollar reaches real users. If you want a comprehensive fraud audit or guidance on safeguarding your campaigns, our team is ready to help.
The post How Mobile Ad Fraud Drains In-App Budgets — and How to Avoid It appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
Independent bookmaker Star Sports has partnered with ClearStake to enhance its player verification and compliance procedures using secure bank-driven verification technology.
The collaboration will enable Star Sports to incorporate ClearStake’s newly-introduced ID by Bank solution.
The product enables users to confirm their identity in seconds through their banking app, eliminating the requirement for document submissions and manual assessments. It results in a notable rise in the success rate of verification processes, which consequently boosts the number of depositing players while decreasing fraud and operational costs.
Star Sports will utilize ClearStake’s current affordability and source of funds technology.
Flynn Goward, Managing Director of Star Sports, said: “We’re always looking for ways to make the player journey smoother without compromising on compliance. ClearStake’s technology gives us exactly that balance. It’s been simple to integrate and we’re already seeing faster verification and fewer hurdles for genuine customers.”
Martin Burt, CEO of ClearStake, added: “Star Sports is one of the most recognised and trusted betting brands in the UK, so we’re thrilled to be helping them enhance their verification processes. By adopting ID by Bank alongside our affordability and source of funds tools, they’re setting the benchmark for what modern player verification should look like.”
ID by Bank has been implemented by several other major UK operators in recent weeks and is transforming the way operators authenticate players online, resulting in significantly improved pass rates, lowered operational costs and fraud, as well as enhanced FTD conversion rates.
The post Star Sports adopts ClearStake’s bank-based solution for player verification appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Just three months after its launch, disruptive new iGaming brand Menace is reporting performance data showing player loyalty well above established market benchmarks.
Menace’s flagship crash game has delivered an average day 1 retention rate of 26%, exceeding the top end of market benchmarks of around 20–22% for comparable titles.
Player loyalty extends beyond initial engagement. During peak months in December and January, Menace recorded day 7 retention of 24–25%, placing it at the very top of industry performance ranges.
The success is partly attributed to Menace’s integrated games studio, Ebaka Games. Around 80% of Menace users played an Ebaka title during a three-month period of exclusivity.
Menace founder Dmitry Belianin said:
“From day one, our goal was not just to launch another operator but to build an ecosystem where content and platform are engineered together for long-term engagement. The early retention data shows that when a studio and an operator act as one product organisation, you can achieve loyalty levels that traditional integration models struggle to reach.”
Ebaka Games content was first launched exclusively with Menace alongside a major brand awareness campaign. Following its proven performance, the content is now available to third-party operators.
These metrics place Menace among the sector’s stickiest operators, with players returning at unusually high rates for a newly-launched brand.
The post Menace sets new retention benchmark appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
BetConstruct AI is thrilled to share its involvement in the SBC Summit Rio 2026, taking place from March 4-5 at the Riocentro in Rio de Janeiro. As Brazil enters its second year of complete regulation, BetConstruct AI emerges at this critical market moment to present a vision of technological empowerment and strategic independence.
At Stand A230, attendees will find an extensive range of AI-powered solutions tailored to satisfy the expectations of the Brazilian crowd. The exhibition highlights the top-tier Sportsbook and Casino Platforms, designed to expand quickly while ensuring peak performance levels.
Apart from the main platforms, BetConstruct AI supplies the necessary framework for a leading online brand. This encompasses CMS Pro, a tailored content management system that enables operators to oversee their complete business from one unified platform, and SpringBuilder X, our mobile-centric, SEO-focused drag-and-drop website creator that removes the necessity for technical expertise. Advancing customization, BetChain AI provides an innovative method to design and develop iGaming sites more efficiently and intelligently, granting partners complete creative authority. These essential tools are crafted to operate in complete synergy with our advanced intelligence layer, establishing a smooth connection between an impressive user interface and intricate back-end automation.
At the heart of the exhibition lies the BetConstruct AI Suite, an advanced set of tools designed to streamline and enhance the operator’s experience.
This encompasses:
●CRM AI: Delivering deep behavioral insights to enhance player retention.
●Umbrella AI: Providing real-time risk management and automated player protection.
●AI Game Recommendation System: Ensuring personalized content delivery to maximize engagement.
●Betting Mate: An intuitive AI companion that elevates the player experience with real-time stats and insights.
Demonstrating its dedication to the long-term success of the Brazilian market, BetConstruct AI will emphasize its unique “The Choice to Grow” initiative. This performance-driven program aims to incentivize partners that reach a 16.67% growth in GGR each quarter. Achieving these goals across a wide array of products – such as Sportsbook, Virtual Sports, and partner brands like PopOK Gaming and CreedRoomz – enables operators to receive a 51% invoice discount every third month, plus exclusive service advantages and tournament participation.
BetConstruct AI encourages all industry stakeholders, operators, and media representatives to stop by Stand A230 at Riocentro. The team will be present during the summit to showcase how a connected, AI-driven ecosystem enables partners to select the route of innovation, efficiency, and market leadership in the Brazilian market.
The post BetConstruct AI Charts a New Course for Brazil’s iGaming Market at SBC Summit Rio 2026 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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