Attribution fraud
Attribution fraud is a type of mobile ad fraud where criminals attempt to steal credit for app installs, by reporting fake clicks as the last engagement right before the app is first launched by a legitimate user.
Attribution fraud tricks attribution platforms to associate an organic install or an install created by another source, to the fraudster, and by doing so, manipulating the "last-click-attribution" model commonly applied by attribution providers.
Commonly triggered by a form of malware installed on the user’s device, the program "listens" to the user’s activity and is notified once a new app install begins.
The malware will then search for campaigns relating to the relevant app, populating the relevant information into a fake click report, and then registering the last click engagement to win the attribution for an otherwise organic install, or one generated by another media partner.