Overview

• As fintech company Space307 expanded its acquisition efforts through affiliate and CPA channels, mobile ad fraud became a growing obstacle to sustainable scale.
• Rising fraud rates distorted performance metrics, increased wasted spend, and prevented product and BI teams from working with reliable data.
• Space307 adopted AppsFlyer’s Fraud Protection solution, Protect360, to gain visibility into fraudulent traffic, block fake installs and identify post-attribution fraud, and establish partner accountability.
• By embedding fraud prevention into their operations, Space307 improved marketing efficiency, restored data integrity, and built a framework for scalable, fraud-resistant growth.

Background

Space307 is an international full-service Fintech company with more than 280 employees and a footprint spanning software development and marketing experts worldwide. Over the years, they’ve evolved from a startup into a major player in the Fintech industry, launching large-scale products in global markets.

Challenge

Initially, Space307’s campaigns began with trusted sources like Google Ads and major DSPs, where fraud was negligible. But as the company broadened its reach to affiliates and CPA networks, fraud rates spiked — with some partners even reaching 90–100% fraudulent traffic.

The impact was felt across multiple teams. The marketing team was forced to spend more time manually identifying suspicious partners, and attribution data from AppsFlyer didn’t align with the company’s BI dashboards or product analytics. In addition, post-attribution fraud became a daily issue, and fake organic installs diluted the quality of insights across the funnel.

The product team was hit especially hard. Without clean data, they had to ignore large portions of user data, relying only on a few media sources like Google or Meta to evaluate product performance. This bottlenecked their ability to iterate quickly and understand true user behavior.

We couldn’t see the real picture. Fraud distracted the team, skewed our data, and made it nearly impossible for the product team to analyze performance metrics.

Kirill Grigorev, Senior UA Specialist, Space307

To make matters worse, systematic fraud patterns began to emerge. Partners who were flagged for one type of fraud would quickly switch tactics to evade detection — using techniques like blending fake installs with real traffic to mask anomalies. Fraud wasn’t just draining ad budgets; it was becoming a sophisticated and ongoing threat to scale.

Solution

To regain control, Space307 implemented a multi-layered fraud prevention strategy built around AppsFlyer’s Fraud protection:

• Real-time fraud prevention blocked fake installs and suspicious events at scale
• Validation Rules screened traffic based on various conditions including app version, SDK version, Customer User ID, and user behavior
• Uninstall tracking and CTIT analysis flagged short time-to-install windows and low-retention traffic
• API integrations and event validation reduced fake S2S event injection
• Post-attribution fraud analysis enabled payout recalculations and helped disqualify bad data from decision-making.
• Hard and soft KPIs were applied to partners based on fraud rates, conversion benchmarks, and traffic quality

As fraud tactics grew increasingly sophisticated, Space307 also realized that stopping fraud wasn’t just about blocking bad traffic — it was about building a system that made it harder for fraud to occur in the first place. 

So they also refined a CPA partner onboarding and risk management framework, which included the following:

• Controlled launch phase: new partners were onboarded under strict limits for impressions, installs, and predefined event volumes. This allowed for controlled testing and early anomaly detection.
• Performance-based benchmarks: Space307 defined clear soft and hard KPIs, such as IPM, install-to-registration, and install-to-FTD conversion rates. These metrics were included directly in IO agreements and tied to payment terms.
• Tight IO clauses: contracts explicitly prohibited fraud, incentivized traffic, and allowed for refunds or penalties when KPIs were violated.
• Minimal data exposure: partners were only given information required for day-to-day activities, limiting access to non-pertinent details.
• SiteID enforcement: Space307 ensured SiteID data was shared by partners, allowing for granular traffic assessment and optimization based on key performance and fraud indicators..
• Escalation path and allow/deny listing: underperforming or suspicious partners were given structured opportunities to correct behavior. Repeat violators were permanently blacklisted.

This proactive approach helped Space307 manage risks at the source, before fraud could impact performance or budgets. Instead of reacting to fraud, their system made it difficult for fraud to scale in the first place — giving them full visibility, control, and confidence as they expanded their acquisition programs.

It also restored trust in the data, enabling faster and more confident decisions.

Protect360 helped us focus. Instead of reacting to fraud, we were able to proactively manage our partners and optimize acquisition.

Kirill Grigorev, Senior UA Specialist, Space307

Results

Space307’s proactive fraud prevention strategy delivered tangible results across the business:

• Fraud rate dropped from 45% to 15%
• Post-attribution fraud decreased from 20,000 to 2,000 daily cases
• Conversion rate from install to Registration event jumped from 5% to 70%
• Weekly fraud cycles were introduced, streamlining operational efficiency
• Partner performance became more predictable and easier to manage
• Attribution and product analytics became cleaner, enabling better product decisions

It’s not just about saving money. Protect360 gave us the ability to clean our data and finally move forward with confidence.

Kirill Grigorev, Senior UA Specialist, Space307

Looking ahead

With the Fintech app gaining traction, Space307 is continuing to refine its fraud strategy. By combining Protect360’s real-time insights with evolving internal workflows and contractual enforcement, the company is building a fraud-resistant foundation for long-term growth.

Fraud prevention isn’t a one-time fix. It’s a strategy — and with AppsFlyer’s Fraud Protection we’ve built a system that works.

Kirill Grigorev, Senior UA Specialist, Space307

Looking for an MMP? Get your free assessment template today

Thanks for your download!