Mfilterit issues advisory to users on digital ad frauds

Mfilterit has issued advisory for digital customers to educate them of expected campaign frauds that are likely to see a surge in upcoming festive season with all leading digital commerce players intensifying their spending on advertising and promotions.

Dhiraj Gupta, CTO Mfilterit, while releasing the advisory said, “There is a dark side of the thriving digital commerce where fraudsters look forward to opportunities to exploit high impact events like Amazon Great Indian Festival Sale 2018 and Flipkart Big Billion Day 2018.  These malicious intent fraudsters misuse the opportunity to make quick money not only eating up a pie in the advertising spend but also affecting the customer experience and money as well in some cases.”

Sharing the advisory, Mfilterit suggested that mobile users should adhere to the following guidelines while choosing the best offers for them.

Spin Wheel/ Forward to earn: Using social media and apps like WhatsApp, fraudsters share GIF images in the form of spin wheels, etc., asking users to click and forward to win exciting offers as well as jaw dropping prices on some of the most sought-after products like the recently launched iPhone Xs. There are no such campaigns run by e-commerce stores like Flipkart and Amazon that ask for clicking and forwarding a banner or any other graphics. These are typically means to get Cookie Stuffing to capture organic sales which that user may do otherwise.

Install apps to earn discounts / offers: Some messages also ask for installing an app, like a restaurant app, e-commerce app, travel and leisure app, and so on, to earn heavy discounts for availing their services. These should be properly verified as such messages should only come from the respective app’s website and not from any other third-party app, which might install a malicious code on the Smartphones without the knowledge of the user. Also remember that if the app is already installed, there is no need to install it again to get the offers.  If the app is not installed, the user should look for it in the Google Play Store or Apple AppStore.  Further, if the message seeks for any upgrade, the user should again check in the main app store for any upgrades, and not trigger updates from other apps. Further, please make sure the “Install from Unrecognised Sources” option in the Settings menu is disabled, so silent background installs can be reduced.

Coupons and Referrals: Check the validity of deals and coupons. Many fraudsters offer fake coupons and deals which actually do not exist. These are meant to capture organic sales which the user was buying, resulting in payouts to fraudsters without any benefit to the consumer. Consumers may end up taking purchase decisions from certain eCommerce sites without actually getting benefit from the coupon code/referral offer.

Verify with the customer care: In case the user is not able to judge about a promotion or campaign received, the user must reach out to the customer care to verify the genuineness. This could also help the brand in knowing the frauds being run in their names.

Even promotions have a logic: The users must not agree to each and every message they come across.  Every campaign or promotion they come across must be logical and rationale. Buying iPhone Xs could give you a dinner for a couple in a restaurant near you but buying a Smart TV cannot gift you a Bugatti.