SAN JUAN, PR – Ad fraud hasn’t gone away. Still in 2025, the problem is costing advertisers billions of dollars every year.
Some studies estimate that ad fraud now costs $30 billion in the US. Globally, the figure is a staggering $100 to $120 billion, according to Zach Lain, director of global data partnerships at PepsiCo.
The problem is prevalent in the rapidly growing connected TV (CTV) space due to technical infrastructure not built with anti-fraud measures at its core, a complex and opaque supply chain with numerous intermediaries, and strong financial incentives that can perpetuate fraud. Lain wants action.
Fraudsters exploiting new technologies
Fraudsters are using new technologies in creative ways to spoof impressions and generate fake traffic that can be hidden as legitimate. Lain cited a recent case where bad actors were spoofing $40-$50 CTV impressions, but were actually running the ad on a single pixel on a smart refrigerator.
“This is mind-boggling to me. Crazy stuff,” Lain said in this video interview with Beet.TV
“When we find fraud, we as an industry don’t really know what to do. We play Whack-A-Mole here. We don’t really speak in a cohesive voice. We don’t have any way to impose penalties or clawbacks or any sort of punitive measure at scale here. So what we’re seeing is fraud really metastasize into CTV.”
While working with independent verification companies like DoubleVerify is critical, Lain emphasized that the entire industry, including the buy-side, sell-side, and agencies, must come together to combat ad fraud effectively on CTV.
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Moving beyond best practices to concrete actions
He suggested the industry needs to move beyond guidelines and best practices to concise and concrete actions to reduce ad fraud on CTV.
Lain stressed that self-regulation will only work if it’s universally adopted and enforceable.
“The bottom line here is that self-regulation never works unless it’s universally adopted and enforceable. We as an industry are really good at guidelines and best practices. We have to move beyond that,” Lain said.
He wants publishers to recognize that ad fraud is not just an advertiser problem, but an industry-wide issue that requires solutions from all players.
“We should move toward a system of universal penalties, clawbacks and other types of punitive measures,” Lain said.
You’re watching “Beet Retreat San Juan 2025, presented by Cognitiv, Index Exchange & TransUnion” For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
You’re watching coverage from Beet Retreat San Juan 2025, presented by Cognitiv, Index Exchange & TransUnion. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
