TechCrunch writes today that Facebook advertisers are seeing wide-spread issues with click-fraud. Some advertisers have been airing their complaints on online forums as well as trying to resolve the issue directly with Facebook. While the article states that Facebook has yet to resolve the issue, the exposure on TechCrunch seems to have kicked the response team into high gear. A representative from Facebook is quoted in an update as saying that they have a click-fraud monitoring system in place to detect and filter out fraudulent traffic. However, they have “seen an increase in suspicious clicks” over the past few days. The rep goes on to say that they have “identified a solution which we have already begun to implement and expect will be completely rolled out by the end of today. In addition, we are identifying impacted accounts and will ensure that advertisers are credited appropriately.”

Click fraud can have serious consequences, both for advertisers and the companies they advertise with. Beyond wasting advertiser’s money (and unjustly enriching the ad provider), click-fraud can destroy the relationship of trust that must exist for the sale of clicks to continue if it is not properly addressed. Fortunately, we have yet to work with a company in this space who would not respond to clearly cataloged evidence of click fraud or other discrepancies. Now that this issue is out in the open, we hope that Facebook will be able to provide a transparent resolution.