DoubleVerify Uncovers Video Ad Fraud Impression Laundering Scheme

NEW YORK, NY (June 30, 2014) – DoubleVerify (“DV”), the leader in digital performance solutions, today announced it has uncovered a significant digital video ad fraud impression laundering scheme, involving over 500 sites and impacting over 1% of all video ad impressions across the internet. Impression laundering conceals the actual URL where an ad appears by using ‘front sites’ that mask themselves as legitimate publishers, in order to monetize ad impressions that otherwise wouldn’t be bought by brand advertisers. This new strain of digital ad fraud is keenly focused on attracting video ad dollars, where demand is high and ad rates typically command 10 times the price of an online display ad.

The DV Fraud Lab findings reveal that these new front sites are rerouting video ad placements through multiple layers of ad serving URLs in order to mask the actual URL where the video ad is delivered. These fraudulent front sites are using new and sophisticated schemes to specifically deceive video advertisers, which include:

• Prominent above-the-fold, video placements
• Video content that targets high-value verticals (health, travel, auto, fashion)
• Phony banner ads from recognized brands that legitimize the overall site
• Low-grade traffic laundered through obscure means (pirated content, ad injectors, incentivized traffic sites)

“URL masking is designed to mislead the online marketplace and we’re now seeing this bait and switch ad fraud quickly moving to online video,” says Wayne Gattinella, CEO of DoubleVerify. “At DV we’re actively protecting our clients with strong, scalable technology that provides the transparency necessary to drive more video ad dollars online.”

In May of 2013, DoubleVerify released a detailed Fraud Lab Report primarily impacting the display market, identifying over 1,200 websites that were participating in impression laundering fraud, costing advertisers an estimated $6.8 million per month.

DV Fraud Protection is an important part of the DV Impression Quality suite of services that evaluate the quality and effectiveness of each impression in a digital ad campaign. DV Impression Quality solutions maximize performance across five critical dimensions – ad viewability, brand safety, fraud protection, impression delivery and ad prominence – that give brand advertisers and media sellers a comprehensive view of the quality and effectiveness of their digital media campaigns.

To learn more about DV Impression Quality solutions, visit www.doubleverify.com.

About DoubleVerify

DoubleVerify is a leading software platform for digital media measurement, data and analytics. DV’s mission is to be the definitive source of transparency and data-driven insights into the quality and effectiveness of digital advertising for the world’s largest brands, publishers and digital ad platforms. DV’s technology platform provides advertisers with consistent and unbiased data and analytics that can be used to optimize the quality and return on their digital ad investments. Since 2008, DV has helped hundreds of Fortune 500 companies gain the most from their media spend by delivering best in class solutions across the digital advertising ecosystem, helping to build a better industry. Learn more at www.doubleverify.com