Programmatic

Not All Ad Fraud Originates Overseas. Law Enforcement Is Starting to Look Closer to Home

The myth of the foreign bogeymen defrauding the U.S. ad industry could be over

Illustration of a gray hand holding a yellow bitcoin over a laptop as a bear trap clamps shut. — Authorities are addressing domestic ad fraud.Animation: Aanya Gupta; Sources: Getty Images

The financial impact of ad fraud is expected to total $5.8 billion worldwide this year, invalidating 8% of display and 14% of video ad impressions, according to the Association of National Advertisers’ latest annual report.

And while the conventional wisdom is that those crimes are perpetrated by foreign entities, multiple sources told Adweek that law authorities are beginning to zero in on U.S. soil and that those perpetrators are aided by programmatic players eager to legitimize their role in the often murky world of ad tech.

While