JICWEBS takes next steps to tackle online ad fraud

JICWEBS, the UK’s Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards, has published a report which looks to further tackle the rise of online ad fraud.

‘UK Traffic Taxonomy for Digital Display Advertising’ describes the different types of potential online ad fraud, and follows June’s publication of an initial set of best practices to reduce the risk of exposure to fraud.

“To address such a complex topic as online ad fraud, first requires understanding what types of activity can enable it,” said JICWEBS chairman Richard Foan.

“Even though the taxonomy – written by our Anti-Fraud Technical Group comprising 30 businesses – identifies 16 different malicious (possibly fraudulent) and non-malicious sources of non-human traffic, it isn’t an exhaustive list. However, it is another important step in reducing the risk of online ad fraud.”

The next step in the move to tackle online ad fraud will be reviewing companies that claim to apply the industry-agreed best practices.

Bob Wootton, director of media and advertising at ISBA, the voice of British Advertisers, said: “ISBA and its members Shell, Santander, and Unilever have worked with industry partners on the JICWEBS Cross-Industry Anti-Fraud Working Group to reduce the risk to exposure to ad fraud.

“Advertising is an ever-evolving ecosystem especially within the digital field. The fraudsters are also looking to be a step ahead of the game so this guidance will be updated as and when necessary. The objective is to restore the trust which advertisers expect across all the media channels they use, notably online, and thus restore their confidence in the channel.”