Click Fraud & Ad Fraud News

Generative AI has made ad fraud cheaper and harder to spot. Bots now scroll, fill forms and move cursors like real people. TrafficGuard CPO Miguel Lopes explains how these bots drain budgets and feed bad data into Google and Meta’s bidding algorithms. He also covers what marketers can do about it: regular traffic audits, stronger identity checks and real-time fraud detection.

AI bots now mimic humans well enough to drain PPC budgets and corrupt bidding data, so advertisers need adaptive, real-time protection that blocks invalid traffic before the click is charged.

TrafficGuard found that up to one in three clicks on some ChatGPT ad campaigns are invalid.

TrafficGuard CEO Mathew Ratty explains how fraudulent affiliates use click injection and cookie stuffing to steal commissions via last-click attribution, and why AI-driven detection is now essential to stop them.

TrafficGuard data cited in Martechvibe estimates $30–100M of World Cup sports betting search spend went to non-incremental clicks and invalid traffic, not new customers. CMO Chadwick Kinlay explains why fixing that leak matters more than outspending it.

Belgian sports betting operator Gaming1 found that 97% of its brand-term clicks on Google Ads were existing customers logging in, not new players.

Why headline World Cup acquisition numbers hid bots, returning customers and spend that reached nobody new.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup saw over $50bn generated in wagers but new analysis from TrafficGuard suggests that over $100 million was wasted trying to acquire players during the tournament.

Affiliate fraud steals marketing budgets through hidden attribution manipulation and AI-driven deception.

Mathew Ratty explains why invalid traffic threatens fintech advertising and growth.

AI-powered click fraud is costing SMEs more than ad spend. Learn how bots drain budgets, corrupt campaign data, and how to stop invalid traffic.

TrafficGuard has launched a fully automated self-serve platform

Tamam Finance boosts mobile attribution accuracy with TrafficGuard protection

TrafficGuard appoints ex-Google AI leader Scott Thomson as Head of AI

TrafficGuard CEO Mathew Ratty discusses how AI-driven bots and invalid traffic are reshaping digital advertising

TrafficGuard expands US operations amid rising ad fraud

Ad fraud is evolving fast, quietly draining budgets and distorting performance.

Hidden invalid traffic drains budgets and distorts performance across digital campaigns.

Affiliate fraud drains budgets and hides genuine partner performance.

GenAI and AI agents are inflating search traffic, corrupting data, and draining ad budgets.

Affiliate marketing faces rising fraud, draining budgets and eroding trust.

AI-powered bots drive sophisticated ad fraud, draining global marketing budgets.

Hyper-engaged users inflate CACs, draining ad budgets and distorting performance.