Attempted click fraud soared in the fourth quarter by close to 40% over third quarter rates of 18.6% to 25.7% in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the latest report from Anchor Intelligence( AI). AI says that thanks to its efforts, advertisers saved at least $35 million, by identifying click fraud in real time.

The recession brought about a big drop in the amount publisher sites were earning from online advertising - display and text. The sufferage caused some publishers to go to the dark side of the web in digital, fraudulent activities just to stay afloat. But while starvation can cause anyone to do things they otherwise wouldn't, committing fraud online is still a no-no and advertisers themselves are keenly aware of just how much they've come to rely on web advertising.

They too have felt the sting of an economic downturn online, making it ever-so important to stretch ad budgets to the max.
AI says the big surge in attempted click fraud in the fourth quarter was due to fraudsters trying to take advantage of the holidays when a surge in online spending occurs.

Egypt became the country with the highest attempted click fraud rate (38.7%), followed closely by Australia (38.4%) and the U.S. (29.8%). Attempted click fraud within these countries resulted primarily from a distinct number of IP addresses with automated, high-velocity traffic and large-scale, coordinated click fraud rings.