DoubleVerify 'Neutralizes' CTV Fraud Scheme

Digital media measurement and analytics specialist DoubleVerify has identified and 'neutralized' an advertising fraud scheme called 'SmokeScreen', which causes screensavers to hijack CTV (Connected TV) devices to generate impressions, even when screens are off.

Acquired by private equity firm Providence Equity Partners in 2017, DV offers MRC-accredited software that verifies the quality and effectiveness of digital ads. The firm's Fraud Lab, comprising a team of data scientists, mathematicians and researchers, uncovered and neutralized SmokeScreen, which DV says was siphoning $6m a month from unprotected advertisers and publishers.

Once an end user installs SmokeScreen, the screensaver generates impressions en masse using falsified data and allows the software to continuously run impressions in the background. According to DV, the user has no idea ads are being served on the device, even when the CTV screen is off, and on average the typical hijacked device generates three times the impression volume of its legitimate counterpart. While DV has now neutralized SmokeScreen for its clients and partners, the software remains active on unprotected CTV platforms and advertiser campaigns, impacting nearly 10,000 devices daily and generating up to ten million fraudulent requests each day.

Mark Zagorski (pictured), CEO of DoubleVerify, comments: 'As fraudsters continue to aggressively target the CTV space, we are committed to blocking emerging fraud schemes across all devices, formats and ad delivery platforms. Fraud harms inventory quality, which in turn drives suboptimal business outcomes for global advertisers. Through the incredible efforts of our Fraud Lab, DV is providing CTV advertisers with much-needed transparency and protection, while helping to preserve the monetization opportunity for quality publishers'.

Web site: www.doubleverify.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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