Google’s advertising platforms, Yahoo and Microsoft are a magnet for scammers. According to a recent study by Click Forensics, the level of click fraud in online advertising experienced an upward trend during the third quarter of 2010.
To produce the report, Click Forensics evaluated more than 300 ad networks and concluded that those affected by the fraud clicks on online advertising are both small and large companies. In the third quarter, the click fraud rate grew by 22.3% compared to 14.1% during the same period in 2009.
The study shows that a significant proportion of advertising budgets of companies affected by the scam of clicks on online advertising. For some companies deception resulting in millions in losses.
Outside the United States, the countries most affected by click fraud are Japan, Netherlands, Philippines, and China.
The increase in fraud associated with online advertising clicks has had much to do with the spread of ads on mobile advertising platforms. “As video advertising, social networks and mobile devices is growing, advertising platforms should pay more attention to the quality of traffic generated by these new channels,” said Paul Pullman, CEO of Click Forensics.