Attribution fraud
Attribution fraud is a type of mobile ad fraud where criminals attempt to steal credit for app installs, by reporting fake clicks as the last engagement right before the app is first launched by a legitimate user.
What is attribution fraud?
Attribution fraud tricks attribution platforms to associate an organic install or an install created by another source, to the fraudster, and by doing so, manipulating the “last-click-attribution” model commonly applied by attribution providers.
How does it work?
Commonly triggered by a form of malware installed on the user’s device, the program “listens” to the user’s activity and is notified once a new app install begins.
The malware will then search for campaigns relating to the relevant app, populating the relevant information into a fake click report, and then registering the last click engagement to win the attribution for an otherwise organic install, or one generated by another media partner.
