Phone farms and ad fraud: How phone farming affects online ads & click fraud

The internet has continued to grow at an unprecedented rate. Billions of humans spend hours daily on the internet, but so do millions of non-humans, such as bots and mobile phones.

Phone farms and phone farming have become increasingly popular over the last few years.

The concept of phone farming involves individuals using multiple phones simultaneously to watch movie and video game trailers and click on ads.

This creates false engagements as there is no one behind these screens. Phone farmers run these phones 24/7 and earn pennies on each ad or video watched.

Phone farmers claim to use phone farming as a side hustle, earning a few extra dollars for groceries, diapers, and childcare.

Farmers purchase inexpensive Android phones (two or more) from eBay and set them up in their homes, running them continuously.

They use various apps and software that display videos and ads, which farmers must watch or simulate clicking to earn from.

How do phone farms differ from click farms?

Phone farms are small-scale and run by a few people in their living rooms or basements.

They are mainly set up as a passive income scheme that exploits multiple mobile incentive programs.

The average phone farmer earns between $50 – $100 per month with about 20 phones.

Click farms, on the other hand, can be run as a company providing a range of digital engagement services or as an individual corporation to multiply clicks for various objectives.

They are usually paid a predetermined amount to perform the same activity repeatedly.

They are operated on a much larger scale, with thousands of employees and billions of daily clicks, impressions, and engagements.

While phone farms use multiple phones to perform automated tasks simultaneously, click farms employ low-paid workers who click on numerous ads or links daily.

Do phone farms cause click fraud?

Although phone farms do not emphasize ads and impressions, as click farms do, a small amount of click fraud is still associated with phone farming.

Any ad-clicking activity without the intention to purchase is termed click fraud. Phone farmers click on ads just for the pennies they can earn and have no business with the advertisers or the business they run.

Many phone farmers ignore click and ad fraud; they are primarily motivated by financial gain. 

How can businesses detect and prevent phone farm ad fraud?

Phone farm ad fraud is a sneaky problem where fraudsters use multiple devices or virtual phones to generate fake ad clicks, impressions, or installs, tricking advertisers into paying for engagement that isn’t real.

Businesses that rely on digital ads need smart strategies to detect and prevent this type of fraud. Here’s a detailed breakdown:

1. Monitor device and IP patterns

• Unusual device behavior: Phone farms often use many devices with similar configurations. Businesses can detect clusters of clicks coming from devices with the same model, OS version, or device IDs.
• IP anomalies: Fraudulent activity often comes from data centers or repeated IP addresses. Watch for multiple clicks from a single IP or a range of IPs that don’t match the real geographic distribution.

2. Track user engagement

• Behavior metrics: Genuine users usually spend time exploring content. Phone farm users generate repetitive, shallow actions, such as quick clicks or installs, without further engagement.
• Time patterns: Phone farms often operate on automated schedules. Large bursts of activity at unusual hours can indicate fraud.

3. Use advanced analytics and AI

• Machine learning models: These can flag suspicious patterns in real-time, such as unusual click-to-install ratios, repeated engagement from the same device, or irregular app behavior.
• Fraud detection software: Tools like AppsFlyer, Adjust, or Kochava can provide device fingerprinting and anomaly detection specifically to identify phone farm activity.

4. Verify install and conversion quality

• Post-install monitoring: Check whether installs result in meaningful user actions (purchases, sign-ups, or session time). Phone farm installs often stop at the install stage.
• CAPTCHA or in-app verification: Adding light verification steps can ensure actions are human-driven.

5. Limit device and account reuse

• Device ID checks: Prevent multiple accounts or clicks from the same device ID.
• Account validation: Flag new accounts performing high-value actions immediately after creation.

6. Work with trusted ad networks

Some ad networks are more vigilant against fraud than others. Choosing networks with robust anti-fraud measures reduces exposure.

7. Educate teams

Awareness and training: Marketing teams should understand phone farm tactics and learn to interpret analytics with a fraud-aware lens.

Are phone farms legal?

Incentivised attention (paying people for their attention) is legal; several apps and businesses have created models that pay viewers to watch their videos, visit their websites, and engage.

Phone farmers leverage the advertising and marketing industry’s dependence on consumer attention to earn a living.

However, phone farms are notorious for violating the terms of the apps they use to make money by simulating clicks and other activities, which can be illegal.

Still, these apps pay no attention to this type of fraud.

Abisola

Meet Abisola! As the content manager at ClickPatrol, she’s the go-to expert on all things fake traffic. From bot clicks to ad fraud, Abisola knows how to spot, stop, and educate others about the sneaky tactics that inflate numbers but don’t bring real results.

View all posts by Abisola (Abisola)

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