Mobile fraud is a constant battle; It’s estimated that a new fraud takes place every three months. This can put off thousands of users and, more importantly, cost advertisers a lot of money. First, we shall review the latest frauds before to expose the necessary steps to undertake in order to stop wasting your money.
A quick overview of the most notorious types of mobile fraud
According to a new report from Forrester, many marketers believe 10% of their budget is lost to mobile fraudsters. The figures are quite alarming – with losses estimated at more than $2.4billion a year as a result of various scams.
Click spamming is probably the most well known example in the industry, while click spoofing and click injection, are even more vicious:
In contrast to merely spoofing clicks, click injection involves users downloading seemingly harmless apps from official app stores – without them realising it. The infection simulates a PC browser and fraudsters can detect when other apps are downloaded in order to trigger clicks right before the install completes. Thanks to this click generated right before the install is complete : the fraudster will receive the credit for this organic install.
Click spoofing, click spamming and click injection are the most common types of scams in the mobile ecosystem. But scammers are creative and the next threat is always looming.
The latest fraud: the jailbreak
In general, a cell phone can be “jailbroken” to expand its use beyond the manufacturer’s ecosystem. In China, for example, it’s a fairly common way to access broader technological skills. However, malicious users can leverage the same technique for more sinister purposes.
In this case, fraudsters leverage “jailbroken” phones—that are by their very nature less secure—to falsify app downloads and purchases. Some types of malicious programs can run on behalf of the operator, and perform operations including e-commerce transactions.
Making fraudulent transactions with stolen credit card information is the usual first step in this realm of illegal activity – but it’s a safe bet to assume the fraudster will not stop there. Using someone else’s identity is usually not a hindrance to the expansion of the fraud system.
In all cases, these fraudulent activities are expensive for those that fall prey to them – whether that’s the marketers or mobile phone owners. It’s up to you to set up an in-house action plan before mobile criminals seriously affect the bottom line of your business.
How to combat mobile fraud: an action plan
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DOWNLOADTo fight against increasingly sophisticated scams that are prevalent on mobiles, as well as those related to hijacking and fraudulent online traffic, marketers must :
- Monitor their metrics over the long term : longer-term conversions are much more difficult to fake
- Update your blacklist regularly : each fraudster will leave a fingerprint that you must list.
- Confide your mobile acquisition budget to fraud experts :
As a huge undertaking in its own right, delegating the management of mobile user acquisition to an expert and recognised agency such as Dreamin.
By choosing this strategy, you can trust experienced mobile acquisition professionals who have the technological tools and know-how to deal with even the worst fraud scenarios. Based on data from an in-depth analysis of activity to detect even the slightest irregularities, the Dreamin platform automatically identifies suspicious behaviors.
Dreamin is committed to quality, efficiency and transparency.
These 3 key values drive their work with clients, united against a single enemy: fraud.