Ever celebrated a spike in installs, only to realize no one’s using your app?
You’re not alone. For every marketer chasing performance metrics, there’s a nagging truth: not all installs are created equal. In fact, a growing chunk of them might be fake, incentivized, or just plain useless.
According to our analysis, there has been a significant rise in ad fraud in apps at each level of the funnel, the highest being at the install stage. There are various sophisticated methods used by fraudsters to manipulate app installs. This includes junk installs, click spamming, and affiliate fraud—all quietly inflating your numbers while your actual ROI flatlines.
Kuku FM, one of India’s fastest-growing audio platforms, ran headfirst into this challenge. Massive install numbers. Minimal post-install activity. Skyrocketing costs with little to show for it.
But they didn’t just accept it. They fought back with the right partner and the right data.
This is the story of how Kuku FM turned fake installs into real engagement, leveraging a mobile ad fraud detection tool with their current tech stack, and reclaimed their growth narrative.
The Growth Ambition vs. Ground Reality
Kuku FM had one goal: grow fast and grow big. With a rich library of audiobooks, podcasts, and audio courses, the stage was set. So the marketing team did what any growth-hungry team would do—they fired up the ad engines and watched the installs roll in. And roll in they did. Like, a lot.
At first, it felt like a win. The charts were climbing. Campaigns looked like they were crushing it. High fives all around.
But then… nothing.
Users weren’t sticking. They weren’t signing up, subscribing, or even poking around the app. It was like throwing a party and no one showed up—except a bunch of bots and bounty hunters chasing rewards.
Digging deeper, the red flags started waving. Installs were pouring in from shady APK sources. Click counts were exploding, but actual engagement? Flatlined. And a whole chunk of traffic came from “incent walls”—users downloading the app just to score a freebie, not because they cared about the content.
The result? Ballooning marketing spend. Bloated attribution costs. A whole lot of noise, and very little signal. Kuku FM wasn’t just dealing with underperforming campaigns—they were up against full-blown mobile ad fraud.
Something had to change. Fast.
Diagnosing the Problem: A Closer Look at Fraud
– Looks good on paper
Kuku FM’s dashboards were lighting up. Installs were rolling in. The growth team was hitting every acquisition target they’d set. From the outside, it looked like a textbook campaign.
– But behind the curtain… not so pretty
Users weren’t engaging. No logins. No streams. No subscriptions. The installs were there, but the people behind them? Not so much. That’s when the team started poking around.
– Junk installs
These were coming from APK sources. Basically, a high volume of junk installs that looked like real users but never did anything after download. No events, no engagement, no heartbeat. These installs were likely faked just to meet click-to-install ratios and pass fraud checks. But they added zero value—like tossing empty jars on a shelf and calling it inventory.
– Click spamming
This one was sneakier. Certain affiliate partners were generating a tidal wave of clicks. Not real clicks from interested users—just inflated numbers meant to hijack install credit. So instead of rewarding the actual source, the fraudster pocketed the payout. Kuku FM ended up paying for “traffic” that was never intended to stick around.
– Incentivize traffic
The downloads were real, but the motivation? All wrong. These users came from “incent walls,” meaning they downloaded the app just to earn a reward. A coupon. A gift card. Maybe digital gold coins for some random mobile game. The second they got what they wanted, they bailed. No loyalty. No interest. No lifetime value.
– Reality check
All three fraud types had one thing in common: they were quietly wrecking ROI. Marketing budgets were being chewed up by users who were never going to become listeners, let alone subscribers.
Translation: It was time to clean house.
Turning Point: How mFilterIt Helped
– Junk installs? Kicked to the curb
With mFilterIt’s advanced fraud detection in place, APK-based installs that showed zero post-install activity were flagged and filtered out. These weren’t just “low quality”—they were dead weight. Cutting them meant less noise, more signals.
– Incent walls got walled off
mFilterIt tracked incentivized traffic sources and flagged partners pushing reward-based installs. Result? A drop in low-intent users. Campaigns shifted toward audiences that cared about the content, not just the freebies.
– Click spammers exposed
Ad sources running click spamming tactics—flooding the system with fake taps to win attribution—were identified and removed. This wasn’t just affiliate fraud detection in action. It was money in the bank.
– Attribution costs trimmed
By eliminating fraudulent publishers, Kuku FM cut down on attribution fees charged by their MMP. Less fraud meant fewer fake payouts—and a lot more budget to spend on genuine growth.
– Better partners. Smarter spending
With the bad actors gone, Kuku FM gained visibility into which networks were performing. Budget reallocation became easier and smarter. Every rupee started pulling its weight.
The Results: Impact Beyond Numbers
– ₹26 lakh saved. No kidding
That’s how much Kuku FM recovered once they kicked fake installs, click-happy affiliates, and reward-chasing freeloaders out of the picture. All that money? Back in the growth team’s pocket. Actual growth, not ghost traffic.
– MMP fees got a reality check
Before mFilterIt, attribution was chaos. After? Streamlined. Fraudulent publishers were axed. Only legit installs cut. And with cleaner data came lighter MMP invoices.
– Partners, unmasked
With shady traffic sources gone, the marketing team finally saw who was really delivering and who was just soaking up spend. Spoiler: Some networks looked a lot less shiny after the cleanup.
– People who used the app
What a concept. Post-fraud, the installs didn’t just go up—they started meaning something. Users played content. Subscribed. Came back. The kind of behavior that makes a CFO smile.
| ✅ What Got Better | 🚀 The Payoff |
| Fraudulent installs blocked | ₹26,11,280 in recovered marketing spend |
| MMP attribution cleaned up | Lower fees, clearer conversions |
| Partners made transparent | Smarter ad spend, stronger relationships |
| User base improved | Higher engagement, more real listeners |
A Voice of Credibility
Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what it looked like from the inside—from the people who lived through the fraud, felt the pain, and saw the turnaround.
“The challenge of high volume of junk installs was draining our resources without delivering meaningful returns. We needed a solution to filter our ad traffic and optimize our campaigns better.”
— Aashita Jain, Growth Marketing Manager, Kuku FM
The fraud wasn’t just frustrating—it was expensive. But with the right ad traffic validation partner, the team didn’t just patch holes. They got their budget, visibility, and performance back on track.
A Wake-Up Call for Marketers
You’re hitting your install targets. Great. But are your users real? Are they sticking around? Are they even human?
If Kuku FM’s story hits the relatable chord, you’re not alone. Click spamming, invalid installs, incentivized traffic fraud—it’s out there. And it’s quietly draining marketing budgets while your metrics put on a happy face.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: You might be paying for users who don’t exist. And even worse, those fake users could be masking the performance of your real channels—the ones actually driving growth.
Time for a reality check.
- Audit your traffic
- Find out what you’re really paying for
- See how much you could save
Implement a mobile ad fraud detection tool with your current ad tech stack and stop wasting your marketing budget.
Start verifying your traffic. Contact us today to book a demo with our ad fraud detection experts.
