{"id":7830,"date":"2026-10-22T17:27:48","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T10:27:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adtek.agency\/glossary\/lead-fraud\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T17:27:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T10:27:48","slug":"lead-fraud","status":"publish","type":"mona_glossary","link":"https:\/\/adtek.agency\/en\/glossary\/lead-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Lead fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lead fraud (also called fake leads) is form submissions or calls recorded as prospects that do not come from real people with real interest: they are filled in by bots, by people paid or rewarded to do it, or built from made-up or recycled data. Advertisers who pay per lead (CPL) or optimize for form submissions take the loss.<\/p>\n

What is lead fraud?<\/h2>\n

Lead fraud is not the same as junk leads. A junk lead is a real person with little interest who mistypes a number or submits just for fun. Lead fraud is the deliberate creation of fake leads to make money or drain a budget. The two need different fixes.<\/p>\n

Common sources of fake leads:<\/p>\n

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  1. Form-filling bots:<\/strong> scripts that submit forms in bulk with random names and phone numbers. The MRC includes conversions in the scope of invalid traffic<\/a> and classifies bots posing as users as the harder-to-detect kind (SIVT) (MRC, IVT Standards Addendum, June 2020<\/a>).<\/li>\n
  2. People rewarded to fill in forms:<\/strong> task groups that pay per submission, close to incentivized traffic<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  3. Lead vendors:<\/strong> affiliates or lead gen partners that send invented leads, resold leads, or one lead sold to several buyers.<\/li>\n
  4. Competitors:<\/strong> submitting forms to waste your budget and tie up your sales team.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Why fake leads get through when platforms filter clicks<\/h2>\n

    Google filters invalid clicks after the ad has served. Those filters cannot block anyone from your website, and leads live in your own forms and CRM. Google states plainly that bots or users can still submit forms even when the click was flagged as invalid, and that some real people deliberately enter fake details (Google Ads Help, About invalid traffic, accessed October 2026<\/a>).<\/p>\n

    For instant forms (forms that open inside the ad) on Facebook and Instagram, the default “More volume” type is built for quick submission on mobile. The “Higher intent” type adds a line saying the business may follow up and an extra review screen where people confirm their details, to cut down on marginally interested submissions (Meta Business Help, About instant form types, accessed October 2026<\/a>).<\/p>\n

    Warning signs<\/h2>\n