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Device Farms
Racks of real or emulated devices cycle through installs, reset advertising IDs, and repeat — generating high volumes of fake downloads that mimic organic behaviour.
Fraud Type Guide
Fake Installs: How Fraudsters Fabricate App Downloads
Fake installs waste CPI budgets and poison attribution data. Learn the methods fraudsters use and how to identify fabricated downloads in your campaigns.
What Are Fake Installs?
Quick answer: Fake installs are fraudulent app downloads generated by bots or spoofed signals that drain CPI budgets and corrupt attribution data.
Fake installs occur when fraudsters simulate mobile app downloads that look legitimate in attribution reports but represent no real user. The advertiser pays a cost-per-install fee for each fabricated download, while the fraudster pockets the payout without delivering any genuine engagement.
Because fake installs pollute every downstream metric — retention, in-app revenue, lifetime value — they do not just waste budget. They make it impossible to accurately measure which acquisition channels are actually working for your app.
For a deep dive into every technique and detection strategy, read the complete app install fraud guide.
Common Fake Install Methods
Fraudsters use a range of techniques to fabricate app downloads at scale.
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SDK Spoofing
Fraudsters reverse-engineer the attribution SDK protocol and send fabricated install signals directly to the MMP server — no device or download required.
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Click Injection
Malware on a device detects when a legitimate install begins, then fires a fraudulent click at the last moment to steal attribution credit for an organic download.
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Bot Networks
Automated scripts running on compromised devices or virtual machines emulate the entire install funnel — click, download, open — at scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
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