GroupM: Here’s how we’re fighting fraud

Ad fraud has become a hot-button issue in media, with studies finding that a huge chunk of the clicks generated by online ads are actually fraudulent.

Agencies have for years been saying they want to get tough on publishers to help slash fraud, but there have been few visible instances of this commitment.

GroupM is changing that. The agency group said this week that it will no longer place ads with publishers unless they meet one of the following two conditions:

• Anti-piracy capabilities certified by Trustworthy Accountability Group, the anti-fraud group formed last year
• Use similarly certified third-party vendors

Piracy has been linked to ad fraud and is considered a major indicator of fraudulency. TAG, an industry group from the 4As, Interactive Advertising Bureau and Association of National Advertisers, is pushing publishers to identify sites that collude with pirates and remove ads from those sites, so that they are not being supported by advertising.

“With IAB, 4As, and ANA, we’ve worked years to make the digital ecosystem more trustworthy,” John Montgomery, chairman, ofGroupM Connect, North America, and co-chair of the TAG Anti-Piracy Working Group, said in a statement.

“Fighting pirates of copyrighted content required every ounce of our tenacity and ingenuity, but with the advent of TAG’s Brand Integrity Program Against Piracy, we have powerful new tools and safeguards.”

Tags: digital advertising, fraud, groupm, piracy, tag, Trustworthy Accountability Group