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Click Fraud Beyond Search Ads: Display, Mobile, App and Programmatic Risks
Why Click Fraud Is No Longer Just a Search Problem
Click fraud isn't only a headache for small businesses. Large companies feel it too. If you run digital ads, you've likely seen that Google Ads click fraud now goes far beyond search campaigns. Display networks, mobile apps and programmatic buying are all targets. Juniper Research estimated that ad fraud cost advertisers $84 billion in 2023, about 22% of digital ad spend. And it's not just wasted money: fake clicks distort your data, hide real conversions and drag down your ROI.
So what's really happening outside search? This post breaks down the main risk areas in display, mobile, app and programmatic advertising. You'll see where fraud tends to concentrate, which warning signs to watch for and which simple steps help you fight back. Whether you work in finance, e-commerce or entertainment, these insights will help you protect your ad spend.
The Scale of Click Fraud Beyond Search
Search is the cleanest place to buy clicks. Across 2.7 billion paid clicks studied between August 2024 and August 2025, invalid traffic averaged 5.21% on Google Search, 12.02% on Google Display and 20.62% on Google Video. Outside Google, TikTok reached 24.2% and LinkedIn 19.88% (Advanced Television, 2026). In US programmatic advertising, 21% of web traffic and 26% of mobile app traffic was invalid in Q1 2025 (Pixalate).
| Channel | Invalid traffic rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search | 5.21% | Advanced Television, 2026 |
| Google Display | 12.02% | Advanced Television, 2026 |
| Google Video | 20.62% | Advanced Television, 2026 |
| 19.88% | Advanced Television, 2026 | |
| TikTok | 24.2% | Advanced Television, 2026 |
| US programmatic web | 21% | Pixalate, Q1 2025 |
| US mobile apps | 26% | Pixalate, Q1 2025 |
Display Ad Networks: Where Bots Blend In
Display advertising looks harmless: banners and videos on websites. But it's one of the channels fraudsters target most. Botnets that imitate human behavior generate fake impressions and clicks, and some use AI to fake scrolls, hovers and clicks on networks such as the Google Display Network and programmatic exchanges.
The damage is greatest in high-CPC industries such as finance, where bots raise costs without adding conversions. Display placements in competitive niches are especially exposed. And because fake engagement looks like real interest, it also distorts the performance data you use to decide where to spend.
A few quick ways to protect your Display campaigns:
- Exclude suspicious IP addresses and IP ranges, and tighten your location targeting.
- Review your placement report and exclude sites and apps that send low-quality clicks.
- Watch post-click engagement: very short sessions with no interaction are a warning sign.
Mobile Advertising: App Installs and In-App Fraud
Mobile is one of the busiest fronts for click fraud. In Pixalate's Q2 2023 data, 16% of mobile web clicks and 13% of mobile app clicks in open programmatic ads were invalid. In app install campaigns, fraudsters use fake devices and device farms to claim payouts for installs that no real user made. For mobile clicks that lead to your website, click fraud software helps reduce these risks.
In-app ads are also exposed to SDK spoofing, where malicious code imitates a real app and reports fake clicks or installs to attribution platforms. The result is misleading attribution data, which can lead you to bid more on fraudulent sources and less on the ones that actually bring customers.
Key risks and fixes:
➔ Repeated clicks from the same device: use click velocity rules to flag them.
➔ Fake or reset devices: use device fingerprinting to recognize returning devices.
➔ New ad networks or apps: test them with small budgets and check engagement before scaling.
App Install Fraud: Device Farms and Fake Users
App ecosystems face fraud that web campaigns usually don't: fake installs, fake in-app events and bots that simulate real users. Much of it comes from organized device farms running large numbers of low-cost Android phones, or from software that fakes devices entirely.
Entertainment and gaming apps are frequent targets, but finance apps are exposed too, as fake users sign up to collect rewards, bonuses or free trials. Bots also slip into long-tail app inventory, inflating impressions and installs that never turn into paying users. Beyond wasted budget, fake installs and reviews can distort your app store metrics and ratings. Many mobile measurement platforms offer fraud prevention tools built specifically for app install campaigns.
Steps to protect your app campaigns:
➔ Add fraud indicators to your user acquisition (UA) reporting.
➔ Limit installs from high-risk sources, such as VPN and data center traffic.
➔ Audit post-install behavior and watch for quick uninstalls or no activity after install.
Programmatic Advertising: Fraud in Real-Time Bidding
Programmatic advertising is among the channels most exposed to fraud. In Pixalate's Q2 2023 data, 17% of open programmatic ad clicks worldwide were invalid. Real-time bidding (RTB) auctions happen in milliseconds across many intermediaries, which gives bots room to generate fake impressions and clicks before anyone notices. Connected TV (CTV) inventory is a growing target too.
Automated campaigns such as Google's Performance Max learn from engagement and conversion signals, and fraudsters can fake those signals with bots that mimic human behavior. High-CPC sectors such as finance and local services feel the cost most, because every fake click is expensive.
Programmatic defenses:
➔ Use pre-bid fraud filtering in your DSP where available.
➔ Use fraud detection tools that flag unusual traffic patterns.
➔ Exclude domains and apps that show no real human engagement.
How to Fight Back Across All Channels
Here's how to fight back across channels and protect your business. For Google Ads and Meta Ads, click fraud prevention software like ClickSambo can handle much of this automatically.
| Set up core protections | Review invalid click data, exclude bad IPs and use placement and location exclusions. |
| Add detection tools | Use third-party bot detection to catch the fake clicks platform filters miss. |
| Monitor signals | Rising clicks with flat conversions, very short sessions or clicks from untargeted regions are warning signs. |
| Test clean performance | Compare results before and after adding fraud protection to see the real impact on cost per conversion. |
| Scale with AI (enterprise) | Use machine learning that adapts to new bots and click farms. |
| Review often | Reassess every quarter as threats shift to new formats such as CTV and social video. |
Wrapping Up
Beyond search, click fraud reaches display, mobile, app and programmatic campaigns. Outside Search, invalid traffic climbs fast: 12.02% on Google Display, 20.62% on Google Video and 26% in US mobile apps. Check placement reports regularly, exclude inventory that sends clicks without conversions, and protect every channel, not just Search. The good news: once you know where the risks are, you can layer on defenses and win back wasted budget. Your goal is simple: pay for real people, not bots. Start auditing your campaigns now. For Google Ads and Meta Ads, ClickSambo detects fake clicks, excludes fraudulent sources and keeps your data cleaner. To learn more, follow us on LinkedIn.
Up to 21% of clicks in open programmatic ads are invalid. See how much fake clicks cost your Google Ads and Meta Ads campaigns.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why is programmatic advertising more exposed to fraud than Search?
Programmatic advertising runs through many intermediaries, including DSPs, SSPs and ad exchanges. Unlike Search ads, which run on a closed platform, programmatic auctions happen in milliseconds across a huge number of third-party sites and apps. That open setup, combined with real-time bidding (RTB), gives sophisticated bots room to slip into auctions and generate fake impressions or clicks before basic filters catch them.
What is SDK spoofing?
SDK spoofing is a type of mobile ad fraud where fraudsters send fake click and install signals to attribution platforms, often through malicious code hidden in a legitimate-looking app, without any real user activity. It makes it look as if a valuable conversion happened. For advertisers, it means paying for users who don't exist and will never engage with the app, which wastes budget and distorts campaign data.
Can basic IP blocking stop botnets?
Not on its own. Many botnets use residential proxies, which means they hide behind the IP addresses of real household devices and switch them often. Stopping them takes more than an IP list. ClickSambo combines IP exclusions with behavioral analysis, device fingerprinting, VPN/proxy detection and click velocity rules to tell real people from scripts, even when they share or change IP addresses.
How does click fraud affect Google Performance Max?
Performance Max relies heavily on conversion signals to optimize bidding. When bots interact with your ads, for example by filling out fake forms, the algorithm learns that this low-quality traffic is valuable and shifts more budget toward similar sources. ClickSambo helps break this cycle by excluding fraudulent sources where Google supports it and sending them to Google as negative signals, so Performance Max learns more from real customers.
