CTV fraud surges 140% as AI schemes spread globally

DoubleVerify has published a global streaming report showing that connected TV fraud schemes rose 140% in the first quarter of 2026. The study also includes Australian market findings and survey data from consumers and marketers.

Its analysis drew on measurement data from billions of impressions in campaigns using its tools, as well as controlled tests without protection controls. It also included surveys of more than 2,000 marketers and 22,000 consumers across more than 20 markets.

The central finding is that connected TV, or CTV, fraud is becoming more complex as fraudsters adopt artificial intelligence and adapt their methods by region. DoubleVerify found 50 distinct CTV bot attacks and variants during 2025, and identified ten times more fraudulent CTV apps in 2025 than in 2024.

The report also put a price on the issue. In campaigns without protection, fraud can cost advertisers about USD $1.8 million for every 1 billion CTV impressions served, according to DoubleVerify's estimates.

That matters as large media budgets shift from linear television to streaming platforms, making CTV inventory more valuable and more attractive to criminal networks. Losses can rise quickly because the market now handles trillions of CTV impressions each year.

Regional patterns suggest fraud tactics vary widely. In North America, bot fraud accounted for 82% of violations detected by DoubleVerify. Data centre traffic made up most violations in APAC at 98%, in EMEA at 66% and in Latin America at 91%.

Those differences suggest fraudsters are tailoring techniques to local market conditions rather than relying on a single global model. That raises questions for advertisers and agencies using a standard anti-fraud approach across multiple territories.

The report also challenges the idea that direct deals and private marketplace transactions are naturally safer than open-market buying. DoubleVerify found bot activity in several direct CTV buys involving major global advertisers.

In one consumer healthcare campaign, 34% of impressions went to bots. In a major consumer packaged goods campaign, the figure was 25%, despite both being direct deals.

"CTV is attracting premium spend and bad actors right along with it," said Gilit Saporta, Vice President, Fraud Lab, DoubleVerify. "Our research shows fraudsters are quick to exploit inefficiencies in the ecosystem, using AI and limited transparency to siphon value from advertisers, with tactics that vary by market. Brands need to get ahead of it by eliminating low-quality impressions and focusing investment on inventory with a real chance to perform."

Protection gap

The report draws a sharp distinction between campaigns with verification controls and those without. Fraud rates in protected CTV campaigns were below 1%, compared with almost 9% in unprotected campaigns.

Those figures point to a wider industry issue around measurement. Fewer than a quarter of advertisers, or 21%, use invalid traffic or fraud detection as a key performance indicator for CTV activity.

While fraud metrics do not directly measure sales or brand lift, they can determine whether campaigns reach real viewers at all. Invalid impressions, by definition, cannot produce genuine outcomes, and they can distort campaign reporting.

The report's Australian data was highlighted as part of a broader look at how consumers and marketers are responding to streaming television. The release did not detail the local figures in full, but said the report includes an Australian market breakout alongside the global findings.

That local angle comes as streaming services and broadcaster video platforms compete more aggressively for advertising budgets in Australia. Any sign that fraud risks differ by market is likely to be watched closely by media buyers allocating spending across direct platform deals, programmatic channels and broader television campaigns.

DoubleVerify has recently rolled out a streaming television product that combines verification and optimisation across streaming TV and CTV. The report aligns with its broader push to expand its role in the growing streaming advertising market.

Even so, the findings are likely to resonate beyond one supplier's product set because they speak to a persistent concern for advertisers: whether premium-priced streaming inventory is reaching people rather than automated systems. In a market that often presents CTV as a cleaner and more accountable environment than other digital channels, evidence of bot traffic in direct buys is likely to sharpen scrutiny from brands and agencies.

"There's a perception that direct deals in CTV are fraud-free, but that's not the case as fraud always finds a way," said Saporta. "It can exist anywhere inventory is bought and sold. Without independent verification and proactive protections, advertisers risk paying premium prices for impressions that deliver no real value."