ADEX: 52% of 2026 ad-fraud schemes use AI as cloaking share falls
Original title: State of Ad Fraud 2026: 52% of Schemes Use AI as Cloaking Loses Ground to iOS Exploits and Messenger Phishing
Across 1.2 million campaigns, iOS scripts and messenger phishing rose while cloaking’s share of suspensions fell to about 45%.
Anti-fraud firm ADEX’s State of Ad Fraud 2026 report covers January–September moderation data from eight ad platforms: 1.2 million campaigns and 4.9 million creatives. ADEX says 52% of distinct fraud schemes used AI-generated or AI-assisted assets, and that cloaking remains the top suspension reason but dropped from about 75% to about 45% by Q3. Malicious iOS scripts and messenger phishing on services such as WhatsApp and Telegram are the newer suspension drivers. Rejected campaigns fell by roughly a third after Q1 as operators submitted fewer, better-built scams.
Unconfirmed: Shares and scheme counts are ADEX’s measurements; bot-traffic and ad-blocking figures are citations of other firms.
- 64% of AI-involved schemes used bots that pass as human visitors, and 11% used deepfakes.
- About one-third of rejections tied to infected domains, the top rejection reason from Q2.
- Malicious iOS scripts were about 20% of Q3 suspensions and were not tracked earlier.
- Copyright rejections rose from 8% to 21%; adult-content rejections fell from 42% to 14%.
- ADEX calls prompt injection a 2027 forecast, not a category it currently measures.
- Organizations
- ADEX
From the original article
2 min read at cybersecuritynews.com
The ad fraud landscape changed sharply in 2026. That is the central finding of the State of Ad Fraud 2026: ADEX Trust & Safety Report, published by anti-fraud platform ADEX. The report analyzes January–September 2026 moderation and verification data from eight ad platforms, covering 1.
By Kaaviya · cybersecuritynews.com
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