The growing menace of online ad fraud, fake websites and bot traffic is making hackers rich, as this is their new business model. These cybercriminals or Internet cockroaches according to this NY Times article are raking in $5 million a day scamming ad networks and advertisers.

The industry has created TAG (The Trustworthy Accountability Group) that is a cross-industry accountability program fighting criminal activity across the digital advertising supply chain created by the IAB, ANA, and 4As. TAG works collaboratively with companies throughout the supply chain in four areas critical to the continued growth and development of the digital advertising industry: eliminating fraud, combating malware, fighting Internet piracy, and promoting transparency.

The goal of TAG is to eliminate the almost $7.2 Billion (2016 ANA Study) that is lost to fraud each year in the digital advertising ecosystem. The first step to becoming TAG Verified is to register for a TAG ID. This ID tells other companies that an organization has been vetted and is a model citizen that can be trusted. This process is known as the TAG Registry. Any company can apply (Ad Tech, Marketers, Agencies). Currently, there are approximately 130 companies that are TAG Registered.

Once an organization has become TAG Registered, they have the option to participate in one or all of TAG's pillar programs: Fraud, Inventory Quality Guidelines (IQG), Piracy, and Malware. Guidelines for each program can be found here. Currently, there are two tiers of compliance for each program: Tier 1 — Independent Certification; Tier 2 — Self Certification.

“It seems we are reminded every day of the importance of effective quality controls.  We believe the industry will benefit greatly with wider adoption of the TAG programs (Registration, Anti-Fraud, Anti-Malware, Anti-Piracy and Inventory Quality).  BPA Worldwide created the TAG Compliance Toolkit to help accelerate industry adoption.  The Toolkit takes the sometimes overwhelming TAG guidelines and breaks them down into manageable segments for efficient integration.  Feedback has been tremendous.   We’re glad to be part of the solution.” states Richard Murphy, Sr. VP of BPA Worldwide. You can register for the toolkit at no cost at this link.