JICWEBS (Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards), the UK body for online ad trading, has published its best practices guidelines for tackling ad fraud.

The recommendations for buyers include avoiding overly broad objectives which might accommodate fraud, filtering media sellers before buying, and not optimising for cost alone. “Results that seem too good to be true probably are,” the report says. More sophisticated engagement metrics – like purchases or subscriptions – are recommended because they are more difficult to fake than ad views or clicks.

For publishers, the report advises not buying traffic from non-organic sources – but if increasing inventory in this way is necessary, it recommends paying a higher price to ensure quality, using technology to detect non-human traffic, and never lowering your standards when performance slips below your goals.

Companies which meet the standards laid out in the report will receive the JICWEBS seal, a process that is expect to begin in the second half of 2015.

“Tackling digital ad fraud is one of the most complex challenges currently facing advertisers,” said Daniel Creed, marketing strategy & planning at Santander. “Gaining a better understanding of the issue is vital, so JICWEBS cross-industry Anti-Fraud Working Group helping educate and advise media buyers on best practices to minimise the risk of fraud impacting their campaigns is well received.”

You can read the full report here.