Fraud / invalid traffic checks before trusting a F2P scale week
Scale weeks without IVT gates create fake payback. Checklist anchored to Protect360 and validation-rule docs.
A F2P scale week that trusts network-reported ROAS without an invalid-traffic gate will invent payback. Run the checks below against live MMP controls before the spend step-up.
Checklist
- Real-time blocking on — Confirm Protect360 (or your MMP’s equivalent) is blocking fake installs in real time, not only reporting after the fact. Protect360 anti-fraud guide describes real-time protection and blocked install postbacks to media sources.
- Post-attribution window covered — The same guide states post-attribution fraud can be identified on the install day and up to 7 days after (8 days total). A Monday scale spike is not “clean” on Tuesday morning.
- Validation rules match the IO — Validation rules let you block or re-attribute installs that miss geo, OS version, or other insertion-order constraints. Rules apply only to traffic Protect360 did not already mark as fraud.
- Impression attribution policy — Document whether view-through / impression attribution is allowed on the scale cell; the validation-rule docs describe blocking impression-based attribution when required.
- Reconcile before payback — Use blocked and post-attribution reports to adjust what finance treats as payable installs before any scale-week ROAS is filed.
Facts vs limits
| Fact | Limit |
|---|---|
| Protect360 documents real-time and post-attribution layers | Other MMP product names differ; cite your vendor’s page in the live RACI |
| Validation rules are configurable operator controls | This checklist does not invent IVT industry rates |
| Reports exist for network reconciliation | Passing checks ≠ incremental lift |
