DoubleVerify reports CTV ad fraud has jumped 140 per cent globally, with fraudulent apps increasing 10x and bot fraud accounting for 82 per cent of incidents in North America. The cost per billion impressions from fraud sits at $1.8 million.
Every time a new ad channel scales, fraud follows the money. CTV is following the exact same pattern as display and mobile before it.
DoubleVerify's latest report puts a number on something CTV advertisers have been feeling: ad fraud in connected television has surged 140 per cent globally year on year. The cost to advertisers sits at roughly $1.8 million per billion impressions lost to fraudulent inventory.
The mechanics of CTV fraud are different from display or mobile fraud. The primary vector is fraudulent apps that mimic legitimate streaming services. DoubleVerify identified a 10x increase in fraudulent CTV apps over the past 12 months. These apps generate fake impressions by spoofing device identifiers and content signals, making the inventory appear legitimate to demand-side platforms.
Year-on-year increase in CTV ad fraud globally, per DoubleVerify
Bot fraud accounts for 82 per cent of CTV fraud incidents in North America. Unlike display bot fraud, which is often detectable through click patterns, CTV bot fraud is harder to identify because the ad format is non-clickable. The signals that verification companies rely on are device-level (IP patterns, app behaviour, content duration) rather than interaction-level.
The surge tracks with the growth in CTV ad spending. As more budget moves into connected TV, the incentive for fraud operators increases. It is the same pattern that played out in display advertising a decade ago and mobile advertising five years ago. New channels attract spend, spend attracts fraud, verification catches up eventually.
For Australian advertisers, the exposure depends on how you are buying CTV inventory. If you are buying directly from publishers like Nine, Seven or Foxtel, your fraud risk is low. Those environments are closed and verified. If you are buying CTV inventory through open programmatic exchanges, your exposure is significantly higher.
The verification gap is worth understanding. Not all CTV supply is created equal. Premium publisher inventory comes with device-level verification and content-level transparency. Open exchange CTV inventory often does not. The CPM difference between the two is usually 30 to 50 per cent, which is roughly the fraud tax you pay for not knowing where your ad ran.
Why it matters
CTV is one of the fastest-growing ad channels in Australia. But growth without verification is just writing cheques to fraudsters. The 140 per cent surge should trigger an immediate review of where your CTV budget is actually being delivered.
What to do about it
Ask your media agency or DSP for a supply path transparency report on your CTV buys. What percentage runs on direct publisher inventory versus open exchange? If you do not have a verification partner measuring your CTV campaigns, get one. The $1.8 million per billion impressions fraud cost means even modest CTV budgets are losing meaningful dollars to non-human traffic.