TAG launches “Certified Against Fraud” program

The Trustworthy Accountability Group (TAG) announced Monday that it is launching its “Certified Against Fraud” certification program.

Since the program was announced in October, more than 30 ad tech and agency partners have now signed on to participate in the initiative, which is aimed at rooting out fraud in digital advertising. They include Amobee, AppNexus, Collective, comScore, DoubleVerify, Dstillery, engage:BDR, Exponential, Forensiq, Horizon Media, Index Exchange, Integral Ad Science, Interpublic Group, MediaMath, Moat, ndp, News Corp, Omnicom Group, OpenX, Publicis Worldwide, RhythmOne, Rocket Fuel, Rubicon Project, Sociomantic, sovrn, SpotX, TubeMogul, White Ops, WPP, Yahoo and Zemanta.

“Going forward, TAG will name and proclaim the companies leading the fight against digital ad fraud through a ‘Certified Against Fraud’ seal that recognizes their efforts to protect partners and customers,” said Mike Zaneis, CEO of TAG. “Participants in the digital ad supply chain can now ask a simple question to tell if their partners have taken the necessary steps to fight ad fraud: ‘Are you TAG Certified Against Fraud?’ As more TAG anti-fraud seals are awarded, the cracks in our industry exploited by bad actors will also be sealed against their criminal endeavors.”

Depending on the role they play in the supply chain, companies will need to comply with specific guidelines in order to qualify for the TAG “Certified Against Fraud” seal.

Advertisers, authorized advertiser agents and other direct buyers must have a designated TAG compliance officer and comply with the Media Rating Council’s Invalid Traffic (IVT) Detection and Filtration Guidelines.

Ad sellers such as publishers and authorized publisher agents must comply with all of the steps required of buyers, domain list filtering, data center IP list filtering and publisher sourcing disclosure requirements.

Ad networks and other indirect buyers and sellers must also fulfill all steps required of buyers, domain list filtering, data center IP list filtering and TAG’s Payment ID protocol.

TAG was formed by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Association of National Advertisers and the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

“Every dollar spent on a fraudulent ad is a dollar that is stolen from marketers,” said Bob Liodice, President and CEO of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). “We’re angry and we want an end to those who are robbing us, reducing our ability to reach our intended targets, diminishing the effectiveness of our campaigns and ultimately hurting ROI. We strongly encourage all of our members to become TAG ‘Certified Against Fraud’ and request their ad partners to do so as well. By working together, we can ensure that our marketing resources support our business goals, not criminals and fraudsters.”

About The Author

Ginny Marvin

As Third Door Media’s paid media reporter, Ginny Marvin writes about paid online marketing topics including paid search, paid social, display and retargeting for Search Engine Land and Marketing Land. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She provides search marketing and demand generation advice for ecommerce companies and can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.