Click Fraud Statistics 2026
Global statistics on how click fraud drains ad budgets, distorts performance, and impacts every industry and channel worldwide.
**based on global ad-fraud losses = US $250 billion, and regional proportions from TrafficGuard’s customer data.
Overview I TrafficGuard Statistics
Click Fraud Will Cost Advertisers
$172B by 2028
of digital traffic is non-human
of global digital ad spend was lost to ad fraud
losses to ad fraud by 2028
of marketing budgetis lost to ad fraud for every $3 spent
Click Fraud in 2025: Trends, Threats, and How to Stay Ahead
Why Click Fraud Is Evolving Faster Than Ever As digital advertising budgets balloon and automation takes centre stage, fraudsters are stepping up their game.
7 Effective Ways to Stop Click Fraud in Your Campaigns
In this blog, we’ll unpack 7 effective ways to stop click fraud before it sabotages your next campaign.
Channels I TrafficGuard Statistics
Google Ad Fraud
Click fraud on Google Ads continues to drain marketing budgets. Bots, fake clicks, and repeat users distort performance data and waste spend before real conversions occur.
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How to Audit Your PPC Campaign?
Uncover wasted ad spend with smarter PPC audits for growth.
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Best Click Fraud Protection Software
Invest in click fraud protection software to safeguard your campaigns.
On paid search campaigns, an average of 14% of all clicks are from non-genuine sources.
Bots are responsible for approximately 24% of all clicks, contributing significantly to click fraud.
Click fraud rates in search campaigns can range between 14% to 22%, depending on industry and geographic location.
Bot networks are responsible for nearly 40% of click fraud, utilising large collections of devices to generate fake clicks.
17% of Affiliate traffic has been proved to be fake.
Cookie stuffing schemes affect around 5% to 10% of affiliate marketing transactions
An estimated 25% of leads generated through affiliate marketing campaigns can be fake.
Affiliate fraudulent activity cost digital advertisers an estimated 3.4 billion.
Channels I TrafficGuard Statistics
Affiliate Fraud
Affiliate marketing is a prime target for click fraud and partner fraud. Fraudsters exploit tracking links, generate returning-user clicks, and hijack attribution models to steal commission.
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How To Identify & Stop Affiliate Fraud?
How to protect your ad budget from fake affiliate traffic
Channels I TrafficGuard Statistics
Meta Click Fraud
Meta’s ad platforms face rising levels of bot traffic and click fraud. Automated accounts, fake likes, and engagement bots inflate results and drain campaign budgets.
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How To Protect Your Social Ad Campaigns From Bots?
Protect social ads: block bots, drive engagement, maximise ROI.
Scam ads accounted for around 10% of Meta’s 2024 ad revenue.
4–5% of Meta’s monthly active users are estimated to be fake accounts.
Industries I TrafficGuard Statistics
IVT & Click Fraud Insights Across Industries In 2025
Of digital ad spend in the Sports Betting industry could be lost to click fraud