Published December 15, 2022
Author: Ash Khan

In a scam, bots are involved in opening a significant portion of marketing emails.

 

According to the digital marketing management website Polygraph, a significant proportion around 5% of all marketing emails are opened by bots as scammers flock to “click fraud bots” to falsify email-based conversions.

 

What is Click fraud?

Click fraud normally takes place on google ads, it occurs when an individual or machine impersonates a real visitor to a website and clicks on the google ad, button, or a sort of hyperlink. This tricks marketers by repeatedly clicking on a PPC (pay-per-click) advertisement. It causes fraudulent charges.

The scam raises advertising costs for businesses, decreases conversion rates, and skews user data. The purpose of click fraud is to deceive a platform or service into believing that legitimate people are interacting with a webpage, ad, or app.

 

How Click Fraud takes place?

Scam bots

Click fraud often occurs on a massive scale; with multiple sites targeted and each link clicked numerous times rather than just once. The scammers frequently utilize bots that “click” repeatedly to automate this procedure. Bots account for about half of all Internet traffic. Fraudulent click bots visit up to 20% of websites that sell advertisements.

Polygraph claims that cybercriminals create an account on the advertising website. They then receive an e-mail with a link for account activation.

 

What is the role of bots?

The Bots are designed to check the scammer’s inbox for new e-mails. Then, they click on any links in those e-mails. This trick marketers into thinking the sign-ups are legitimate. So, they begin adding them to marketing email software and send emails to scammers.

Furthermore, the bots open these marketing e-mails. The bots are specifically designed to open any e-mail and click on their links. This gives advertisers and businesses the impression that they are legit visitors.

 

How to detect click fraud?

Click fraud is linked to seo content service and affiliate PPC ads. If you see any of the following, you may be a victim of click fraud:

 

  • Clicks from similar ISPs with no conversions
  • Search cost increases that surpass estimates
  • Unexplainable anomalies in performance data

 

In the UK click fraud is not the scam that is costing UK businesses. According to a survey of 107 UK businesses, a significant majority around 64% of UK organizations had encountered some sort of economic crime in the last two years, passing g the global average of 46%.

Email services continue to play a significant role in this form of fraud affecting UK organizations. According to research, over three-quarters (74%) of institutions have been victims of an email security issue in the recent year, which is often delivered by email.

How to Prevent Click Frauds?

  1. Configure IP exclusions in Google Ads
    Review your data and check if any IP addresses clicking your advertisements are suspicious. If you have a suspicion that there’s a false address add it to the exclusion list in Google Ads.
  2. Consider how you run display adverts
    Publishers who click on your ads on their website also contribute to click fraud. Publishers are less likely to notice your display advertisements if you concentrate on retargeting.
  3. Pay attention to ad targeting
    Concentrate on your target audiences and select a narrow range. When you have a lesser audience to see your ad outside of your intended demographic, it is more protected from click fraud.
  4. Consider social media advertisements
    When marketing on social media, platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are less keyword-focused, this them more difficult to find. These platforms still provide good value for money with clever targeting; they are difficult for scammers to find.