The bidstream has a noise problem. Up to 40% of bid requests in open programmatic contain fabricated or misrep

The bidstream has a noise problem. Up to 40% of bid requests in open programmatic contain fabricated or misrepresented signals — domain spoofing, fake geo data, inflated viewability scores.

IAB's ads.txt was supposed to fix the domain spoofing issue, and it helped. But ads.txt only covers direct relationships. app-ads.txt does the same for mobile, and sellers.json adds another verification layer for SSPs. Together, these three files create a paper trail that's hard to fake.

Before scaling any programmatic spend, verify:
- Your DSP filters for ads.txt compliance (not just checks for its existence)
- You're buying only from authorized sellers in sellers.json
- You have a blocklist for domains/apps that consistently show high IVT rates

The most reliable proxy for clean inventory: run your placements through a third-party measurement vendor (DV, IAS, MOAT) for at least two weeks before committing budget. The delta between your DSP's reported viewability and a third-party measurement is your fraud exposure estimate.