UPI Transaction Limit Hiked: The RBI has announced to increase the transactions limit for UPI Lite and UPI 123Pay. The decision was announced by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.
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To stay on top of your digital marketing game, safeguarding your programmatic ad campaigns from fraud is paramount. Ad fraud can drain your budget, distort your performance metrics, and threaten your brand’s reputation. Protects Your Digital Ad Campaigns Advertisers need comprehensive protection against fraudulent activities. Here’s how it ensures the integrity and effectiveness of your programmatic advertising: Identification and Filtering of Invalid Traffic Meticulously analyzes traffic to identify and filter out invalid clicks and bot activities. This ensures that your ads are seen by real people, enhancing engagement and conversion rates. Automated Blacklisting By automating the blacklisting of suspicious traffic sources, continuously cleanses your traffic, prevent fraudulent sources from inflating your ad spend. Enhanced Transparency Accuracy in measurement and weeding out invalid or fraudulent traffic build trust and transparency allowing for more informed decision-making and improved ROI on ad spends. Fortunately, mFilterIt offer robust protection, ensuring that your ads reach real, relevant audiences and deliver genuine engagement. Case Study: mFilterIt’s Impact on Search Campaigns A global automobile company faced a significant challenge with low conversion rates and engagement despite substantial spending on Google search campaigns.Here’s how mFilterIt turned the situation around: Ad Traffic Validation mFilterIt started by validating the incoming traffic to ensure that only genuine, interested users were engaging with the ads. Blacklisting Traffic Anomalies Anomalous traffic patterns were identified and blacklisted, cutting off fraudulent sources. These actions led to a remarkable improvement in a short period. Let’s look at the numbers: By The Numbers: Client Success with mFilterIt 13% Drop in Click Fraud: By filtering out invalid clicks, the company saw a significant reduction in click fraud, ensuring their budget was spent on real potential customers. 11% Drop in Lead Fraud: With improved traffic validation, the quality of leads improved, resulting in a noticeable drop in lead fraud. $1.2 Million Saved Due to Active Blacklisting: The automated blacklisting process saved the company a substantial amount in ad spend that would have otherwise been wasted on fraudulent activities. mFilterIt Impact: 1.75X Increase in Conversion RatioThe most compelling outcome was the dramatic increase in the conversion ratio. By ensuring that ads were only seen by genuine users, the company experienced an improvement in their conversion rates. This not only validated their investment in mFilterIt but also demonstrated the power of effective ad fraud prevention. Conclusion Ad fraud is a significant threat to digital marketers, but with the right tools, it can be effectively managed and mitigated. mFilterIt provides the necessary protection to ensure your programmatic ad campaigns are reaching the right audiences, optimizing your ad spend, and ultimately driving better business results.Protect your digital ad campaigns with mFilterIt and witness the difference in performance and ROI Download Submit
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Every click and impression matters, but not all views are created equal. While marketers strive for high engagement rates and impressive reach, a significant portion of ad traffic is generated from invalid sources. Invalid impressions not only waste advertisers’ budgets but also undermine the credibility of digital marketing campaigns. When marketers are paying for impressions that are not being seen by real people, their ROI suffers. How do fraudsters generate invalid or fake impressions? Inflated numbers from invalid sources often fail to lead to conversions or milestone achievements. Invalid clicks and impressions are major concerns, as they undermine the effectiveness of ads and result in wasted media spend. Here are key sources that generate invalid impressions: Domain Spoofing: Fraudsters fake premium site placements, making it appear as though your ad is on a high-quality site when it isn’t. Pixel Stuffing: Invisible ads are falsely counted as viewed, misleading you into thinking your ad has been seen. Cookie Stuffing: Unauthorized cookies inflate engagement metrics, making it look like there’s more interaction with your ad than there actually is. Ad Stacking: Layered ads cause inflated impression counts, as multiple ads are stacked on top of each other in a single ad placement. Proxy Traffic From non-targeted Location: Fake impressions generated from manipulated locations further distort your campaign metrics. MFA (Made-for-Advertising) Sites: These sites are created specifically to serve ads but lack real user engagement, leading to low-quality impressions. Low-Quality Content Sites: Ads placed on sites with poor content relevance are less effective and often ignored by users. Frequency Capping Violations: Overexposure of ads on the same device diminishes their impact, as users become desensitized to repeated ads. mFilterIt: Ensuring Brand Safety, Ad-Fraud Prevention, and Viewability At mFilterIt, we specialize in B.A.V (Brand Safety, Ad-Fraud Prevention, and Viewability). We work tirelessly to eliminate Invalid Traffic (IVT), ensuring that your media spend goes towards legitimate impressions and optimized campaign KPIs. Up to 30% in ad spend saved by identifying and blocking sources of invalid impressions ~25% post-ad ecosystem cleanup average ROI improvement 27% MFA sites Ensure your ads reach a genuine audience is crucial for achieving meaningful engagement and maximizing your advertising budget. Trust mFilterIt to safeguard your ad campaigns against fraud and optimize your ad spend for better performance and higher returns. Download Submit
The Truth About Online Advertising: Is a Genuine Audience Viewing Your Ad? Read More »
These betting operations are also sophisticated in their financial maneuvers. mFilterIt has discovered that these platforms use mule accounts to launder money. Mule accounts are those bank accounts held by individuals or firms that receive money from bettors and then transfer it to the offshore accounts of these betting websites.” said Dhiraj Gupta, CTO & Co-Founder, mFilterIt
Analyse the behaviour of an influencer’s followers to identify any suspicious patterns. Analyse account behaviour, activity patterns, and follower characteristics. Genuine influencers may experience organic growth due to viral content or media exposure, but massive and rapid follower increases without post content going viral are often indicative of bot activity,” explains Varun Grover, Brand Safety BU Head, mFilterIt.
What’s the most important metric to gauge an influencer’s efficacy? Read More »
Before 2025, phishing scams were easy to spot with their “sloppy messages”, half-prepared accounts, or messages that showed that it is suspicious. But we are now living in a world of AI, where fraudsters are getting smarter, sneakier and also technologically advanced. Fraud GPT and Phishing-as-a-Service are things which we are dealing with in today’s digital world. AI has made sloppy messages far more convincing and with one click fraudsters can create a campaign or a social media site page that looks just like yours. You might tell the difference, but your audience can’t. When they get a fake link on their DM or fake customer care personnel representing your brand, they will believe that it is you. For brands, this isn’t just a user problem. Every fake page or message tied to your name puts reputation and trust at risk. When customers fall victim, they often blame the brand they thought they were engaging with. That’s why vigilance on social media is no longer optional. As AI continues to supercharge phishing attempts, brands must act now to protect their users—and their credibility. In this blog, we’ll explore how AI is reshaping phishing scams on social media, the key tactics scammers use to impersonate brands, and the steps your business can take to safeguard users and maintain trust. By the end, you’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of the threat landscape—and a practical roadmap to stay ahead of it. What is Social Media Phishing? Social media phishing scams are deceptive tactics where cybercriminals impersonate trusted brands or individuals on social media platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter etc. to trick users into sharing sensitive information or dupe them. These scams often come in the form of fake accounts, too-good-to-be-true offers, luring messages, or counterfeit promotions, that appear genuine at first glance. Scammers may post a lucrative click-bait link on a platform, something like, “Work from home and earn ₹50,000 a week with no experience.” When a user clicks on this link, they may be redirected to spoofed websites that steal the personal information of the users. Since they are accessing the link through their social media account, a lot of personal identification information becomes available to the scammers. For brands, this means that social media phishing is no longer just a consumer issue, it’s a direct threat to reputation, trust, and customer relationships. As the use of social media increases, it tends to increase scams day by day. How is AI Amplifying Phishing Attacks on Social Media? Phishing attacks are not new, but with the rise of AI, they’ve become more convincing and harder to spot. Traditionally, phishing relied on poorly written messages or generic scams. Today, AI can generate highly personalized content that looks and feels authentic, making it much easier to trick users. Here’s how AI is changing the game: Personalized Messages: AI can scan public profiles and craft phishing messages that sound like they’re from a friend, colleague, or trusted brand. Realistic Chatbots: Fraudsters now use AI-powered bots to hold natural conversations, lowering a user’s guard before leading them to malicious links. Deepfake Content: AI-generated images, videos, or voice recordings make it easier to impersonate real people, creating trust where there shouldn’t be any. Faster Scale: Instead of targeting a handful of users, AI enables scammers to launch thousands of highly tailored phishing attempts in seconds. For everyday social media users, this means phishing scams are no longer as obvious as they once were. How do Social Media Phishing Attacks Impact Brands? Phishing scams have already been a long threat to businesses, but the rise of social media scams has made the problem even more complex. Unlike traditional phishing emails, scams on platforms like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more exploit the trust and immediacy of social interactions. This makes them harder to detect and far more damaging to brands. Here’s how these scams affect businesses: Loss of Customer Trust: Social media sites is where brands connect most directly with their audience. When fake accounts or websites impersonate your brands or lure followers into scams, customers begin to question the authenticity of your online presence. This eventually results in users feeling betrayed and loss of their trust in your brand. Revenue Loss: Fake deals, giveaways, promotions, and “too-good-to-be-true” offers on social media platforms often redirect potential buyers away from legitimate brand channels. This not only causes missed revenue opportunities but also damages future sales. Reputational Damage: Social media platforms are a place where any post can get viral within hours. A single phishing scam linked to your brand can spark negative publicity and create lasting reputational harm. Moreover, news related to scams spreads very quickly, often faster than official clarification, making recovery even more difficult. Decline in Customer Loyalty: Customers don’t stick to the brands if they feel unsafe. If someone falls for a phishing scam linked to a fake version of your brand, they may stop engaging with you altogether and switch to the competitors they might trust more. Eventually, if a user interacts with someone claiming to represent a brand they love and trust, they are likely to trust the stranger contacting them. Then, if this person turns out to be a scammer, the user will associate the bad experience with the brand. What Are the Different Types of Social Media Phishing Techniques? Scammers use different tricks on social platforms to impersonate brands and deceive users. As a brand manager, understanding these tactics is key to spotting and stopping them early. Fake Job Offers: On platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook, scammers set up pages that look like official brand accounts and advertise dream jobs. Candidates are asked to share personal data or pay for “application processing”. Not only does the victim lose money, but the brand’s reputation is damaged. Investment Scams: Scammers run Instagram stories and Twitter threads promoting “Limited time crypto investment” or “get-rich-quick” schemes, sometimes even using a brand’s logo or name to seem credible.
Social Media Phishing Explained: Types, Tactics, and How Brands Can Stay Safe Read More »
The shopper’s behavior has evolved, with marketplaces enhancing the shopping experience with augmented reality and a flurry of mega-sale seasons. The digital shelf in Indian e-commerce landscape has witnessed some rapid changes in recent years. During the festive season in 2023, brands promoted their product with extensive sponsored activity and launched new products aggressively as it was coupled with mega events for advertising the Cricket World Cup in India 2023. But 2024 is witnessing an unprecedented rise, as Indian ecommerce market to grow to $325 billion and digital economy to reach $800 billion by 2030. What’s next in the eCommerce arena? With an expanding internet user base coupled with rising purchase power and convenience driven by Quick commerce platforms. The future of e-commerce in India is bright, as we are poised to become a worldwide e-commerce powerhouse by 2030 with 500 million online shoppers. Brands also need to up their digital shelf game to match the pace of the competitive digital commerce landscape. Let’s dive deep into what this will lead to and what to expect in 2025 and beyond. eCommerce Trends for 2024 Rise of Value-First Shoppers The shopper’s behavior is getting complex and challenging to predict day by that with multiple choices, platforms, and steep competition. Online shoppers buy different products at different prices for various reasons. Understanding their motivation and need is key to excel in 2024 & beyond. Among the most common types of shoppers are impulse buyers, casual shoppers, need-based, research-oriented, and those who follow the trends, value-first shoppers have carved their niche looking for products that offer value for money and are on par with their lifestyle needs. Brands need to tap the buying potential of such shoppers and use insights competition to become the top pick of these shoppers. Health & Wellness, Beauty & Personal Care categories are key target segments. The digital native brands (DNB) catering to such niche of shoppers also need to track competition strategies on e-commerce and quick commerce platforms. Expansion Across Tier 2, 3 Cities & Beyond Brands need to understand the landscape of online shopping has moved beyond tier-1 cities with more influx of shoppers coming from tier-2 & 3 cities. The ease of payment and high-speed internet penetration across tier-2 cities and beyond has led to rise of mobile commerce and social commerce as platforms like Meesho earned 60% of its sale during festive season sale from tier-2 cities. The 2024 is the year of expansion and discovery where tier-2 & 3 cities experience rise in presence of quick commerce -dark store for swift delivery. Even Amazon is witnessing an influx of shoppers into the prime ecosystem from tier 2 and 3 consumers discovering new categories. Digital infrastructure has advanced, significant shift is observed towards tier 2-4 towns, with over 60% of demand expected to be driven by rural India by 2026. In 2024 during the prime day sale, the e-commerce retailers saw 65 percent of the growth coming from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Brands need to identify opportunities in these geographies and explore new opportunities. Identify gaps in the market presence at pin-code level. Personalized Experience with Global Localization The world is shrinking in terms of reach and information access. Shoppers are aware of what’s going on in the global market and what is in trend but personalized experience and connect with products is still a key point in making purchase decision. Brands selling in global e-commerce ecosystem across multiple countries must be in-tune with needs of the local market and competition activities as one marketing experience not necessarily works on other marketplaces. The availability mobile-first content in the local languages has led to a surge, with approx. 73% of India’s internet users using Indian languages for online shopping. This has opened the Indian e-commerce landscape to regional language base of 540 million, offering a market size of $53 billion. Brands need to provide personalized experience and keep track of what’s trending on in the marketplace in their categories to extend their market share. More Convenience with Quick Commerce The quick Commerce platforms have led to a new era of online sales with convenience and fulfilling last minute needs. India’s quick commerce market is expected to reach a market size of $5.5 billion by 2025. Brands in Food & beverage category are approaching the platforms more aggressively as its dominating over in-store sales which cost hefty margins. The key challenge for platforms and brands on quick commerce in 2024 is optimizing performance and expanding across geographies along with monitoring needs of shoppers at granular level within cities. The rate at which quick commerce platforms are expanding product categories and number of SKUs the signs are looking more positive with rise in order volume and cart value. The new trends of quick sale and product launches have been witnessed recently like Unicorn Info Solutions (Apple reseller) partnering with Blinkit to deliver the latest-generation iPhone models in minutes. Rise of D2C Commerce The D2C Commerce has been a breath of fresh air in 2023-2024 as more investment comping in the wide variety of D2C players in e-commerce 2024 is looking bright. Digital Native Brands expanding horizon beyond their e-commerce websites and venturing into the e-commerce marketplaces and quick commerce arena. With the extension of reach and new sales platforms D2C ecosystem is all set to achieve new milestones in coming years especially in Beauty & personal care, Fashion and Health & Wellness product categories. D2C brands do not need extensive inventory tracking but need to be aware of the competition in traditional e-commerce and in niche categories. Digital commerce intelligence for them is more about identifying the gaps in the market and building data-driven strategies. New Avenues are opening and expanding like social commerce. Social Commerce landscape is about to expand market size of $ 70 billion by 2030, with rise in influencer marketing in D2C space and gaining wide appeal. E-commerce Intelligence for Competitive Monitoring Data driven growth is the mantra for 2024 and beyond. To
Indian E-commerce Market Trends 2024: How to stay on top of the Digital Shelf Read More »
