Definition & Explanation

Vertical fraud is a category-specific form of ad fraud where bots are programmed to target a particular industry vertical such as health, finance, or education. These verticals are targeted because they typically command higher CPMs, making fraudulent impressions more profitable. Fraudsters create fake sites or spoof domains mimicking high-value vertical publishers, then generate bot traffic to siphon ad spend from advertisers willing to pay premium rates for niche audiences.