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Ads hijacking: learn how to shield your campaigns

branddi · Published on February 27, 2025 · Updated on April 10, 2026

Ads Hijacking is a growing digital threat that goes beyond simple inconveniences: it undermines the integrity of your campaigns, diverts valuable traffic and tarnishes your brand's reputation. in monitoring and combating various forms of online threats, and ad hijacking is one of them. Therefore, we have prepared this complete guide to help you identify, prevent and mitigate this threat.

Continue reading to discover how to shield your campaigns and ensure that your digital marketing efforts bring the expected results, without compromising your brand's image!

What is ads hijacking?

The losses caused by fraud driven by Ads Hijacking are alarming. This is what a report from Juniper Research shows, which points out that merchants around the world are expected to lose up to US$400 billion in 2025.

Ads Hijacking, translated as <a href = This can occur in a variety of ways, from inserting malware into browsers and creating malicious extensions, to exploiting vulnerabilities in ad networks and e-commerce platforms.

Imagine the following situation: a customer searches for a specific product from your brand on Google. Then, he clicks on the ad that appears at the top of the page, hoping to be redirected to your official website.

However, due to ads hijacking, the consumer is redirected to a fake page that imitates your online store. This is exactly what we call ads hijacking!

In this scenario, Branddi stands out for offering monitoring and brand protection solutions that help mitigate the risks associated with this threat, allowing companies to focus on their businesses without worrying about these threats.

Let's understand more about how ad hijacking works?

How does ads hijacking work?

Ads hijacking manifests itself in different ways, exploiting vulnerabilities at different points in the online advertising ecosystem. And it is for this reason that understanding the methods used by unfair users is the first step to protecting yourself.

Below, we detail some of the most common techniques:

• Malware and malicious extensions: these software can intercept ad traffic, redirecting users to fake pages or displaying unauthorized ads on legitimate sites;
• Ad retargeting: Offenders can compromise advertiser accounts on platforms like Google Ads by changing ad retargeting settings; techniques such as session hijacking, criminals can steal a user's session on a website or application.

According to data from Brazilian Association to Combat Counterfeiting (ABCF), digital scams, which include ads hijacking, grew 45% in 2024 in Brazil. And this significant increase demonstrates the sophistication and persistence of these disloyal users, as well as the urgent need for more effective protection measures.

What are the threats of ads hijacking for brands?

Ads hijacking represents a serious risk to the reputation and financial performance of any brand that invests in online advertising. This is because the consequences range from the diversion of qualified traffic and the increase in customer acquisition costs, to the dissemination of false information and the loss of consumer trust.

And we know how valuable and difficult an asset consumer trust is to gain.

Next, we will detail the main threats that ads hijacking represents for brands, showing how this practice can harm your business in several ways.

Check out:

Diversion of legitimate traffic

Ads hijacking diverts traffic from users who are genuinely looking for your products/services, redirecting them to fake or competing pages. This causes loss of business opportunities, as you pay for clicks that do not convert.

In addition, it harms positioning in search engines, which consider the bounce rate and time spent on the site.

Damage to brand reputation

Ads hijacking can cause serious damage to your brand's reputation. This is because, when users are redirected to fake pages or websites with inappropriate content, they may have a negative experience and associate this experience with your brand.

Furthermore, if offenders use brand impersonation techniques to impersonate your company, disseminating false information or offering low-quality products/services, consumer trust can be irreversibly shaken.

Proof of this is that, According to a study by the company Callsign, 57.8% of consumers lose trust in a brand after being exposed to dangerous or false content associated with her.

Unfair competition

Ads hijacking can be used as unfair competition, where competitors intercept your ads to drive traffic to their websites, taking advantage of your investment. This unethical practice distorts the market and harms free competition.

Branddi offers competition monitoring solutions that can identify ad hijacking practices and other forms of unfair competition, allowing you to take appropriate measures to protect your interests.

Thus, by identifying and neutralizing these actions, you guarantee a fairer and more balanced playing field for your brand.

Loss of control over the brand's message

In ads hijacking, you lose control over the message transmitted, as these competitors alter the content, insert false information or display ads that are out of line with the brand. ROI of advertising campaignsAds hijacking directly impacts the return on investment (ROI) of your advertising campaigns. After all, by diverting legitimate traffic and displaying false ads, offenders inflate their marketing costs and reduce the effectiveness of their campaigns.

In other words, you are paying for clicks that do not generate results, which reduces your conversion rate and your final profit. performance analysis of campaigns, as diverted traffic or adulterated ads make the data inaccurate and do not reflect reality. href="https://branddi.com/pt-br/blog/o-que-e-desvio-de-atribuicao" target="_blank" id="">relationship with partners and investors, as the brand's association with fraud undermines the trust of these stakeholders. That is, commercial partners may withdraw and investors may lose interest, worried about financial and image risks.

Transparency and effective protection against these cases are essential to maintain trust.

Costs with legal actions

In more serious cases, ads hijacking can generate costs with legal actions. This is because, if your brand is used to scam or defraud consumers, you may be sued for moral and material damages. class="w-richtext-figure-type-image w-richtext-align-fullwidth" style="max-width:818px" data-rt-type="image" data-rt-align="fullwidth" data-rt-max-width="818px">affiliate marketing, although it is an effective strategy for boosting sales, it can become fertile ground for ads hijacking when there is no control strict.

This is because malicious affiliates can use malicious tactics to hijack legitimate ad traffic and direct it to their own affiliate pages, seeking easy and unfair commissions.

Do you know how this happens?

• Brand Bidding: dishonest affiliates can use your company name brand as a keyword in your sponsored link campaigns, which is known as brand bidding. This causes their ads to appear when users search for your brand, diverting traffic that should go to your official website. but they also compromise your brand's reputation, as users may be exposed to negative experiences or low-quality products/services.According to data from E-commerce Brasil portal, the number of Brazilian affiliates increased by 8% in 2023, demonstrating growth of this market and the importance of protecting against these issues.In other words, it is essential that companies establish strict criteria for selecting affiliates and closely monitor their activities, in order to identify and combat ads hijacking. What are the main signs of ads hijacking?Identifying ads hijacking in your campaigns can be a challenge, but Paying attention to certain warning signs is critical to protecting your brand. clicks (CTR):a very high CTR, especially if it is not accompanied by an increase in conversions, may be a sign that clicks are being generated by bots;
• Reduction in conversions:your ads may be being directed to fake or low-quality pages;
• Abnormal traffic in certain regions: a sudden increase traffic from unusual or irrelevant geographic regions for your business may indicate that your ads are being shown to an unqualified audience;
• Unreliable affiliate commissions: if you have an affiliate program, be aware of very high commissions or payments for affiliates with suspicious activity;
• Customer complaints: pay attention to comments and complaints from customers who report being redirected to fake pages or having negative experiences when clicking on your ads.

When you identify one or more of these signs, it's important to thoroughly investigate the situation and take appropriate action to protect your campaigns and your brand's reputation.

Top ad hijacking techniques

Unfair competitors are constantly improving their techniques to hijack ads and exploit vulnerabilities in the online advertising ecosystem. E é por essa razão que conhecer as principais táticas utilizadas por eles é fundamental para se antecipar aos ataques e proteger suas campanhas.

A seguir, vamos detalhar algumas das técnicas mais comuns utilizadas pelos infratores para sequestrar anúncios, mostrando como elas funcionam e como você pode se proteger.

Erros gráficos

A técnica de erros gráficos, também conhecida como typosquatting, envolve o registro de domínios com grafias semelhantes à sua marca, explorando erros de digitação comuns dos usuários.

Infratores criam sites com esses domínios para exibir anúncios falsos ou redirecionar o tráfego para páginas concorrentes.

Para se proteger, registre variações comuns do seu domínio e monitore a web em busca de sites com grafias similares.

Uso de mecanismos de busca secundários

Alguns concorrentes ou parceiros desleais exploram mecanismos de busca secundários, menos conhecidos e com políticas de segurança mais frágeis, para exibir anúncios falsos ou redirecionar o tráfego para páginas maliciosas.

Para se proteger, monitore a origem do tráfego das suas campanhas, bloqueie o tráfego proveniente de fontes suspeitas e conscientize seus clientes sobre os riscos de utilizar mecanismos de busca não confiáveis.

Redirecionamentos

A técnica de redirecionamentos consiste em interceptar o tráfego dos seus anúncios e direcioná-lo para páginas diferentes daquelas que você definiu em suas campanhas.

Esses usuários podem utilizar diversos métodos para realizar esses redirecionamentos, como a injeção de código malicioso em sites legítimos ou a exploração de vulnerabilidades em servidores de anúncios.

De acordo com um relatório do Tecnoblog, 42% do tráfego da web é gerado por bots, e uma grande parte deles é utilizada para ações maliciosas, como redirecionamentos falsos.

Para se proteger, utilize ferramentas de monitoramento de tráfego e proteção online, como a Branddi, e implemente medidas de segurança robustas em seus sites e servidores.

Restrições temporárias

A técnica de restrições temporárias consiste em exibir anúncios falsos ou redirecionar o tráfego apenas em determinados horários ou dias da semana, dificultando a identificação do ads hijacking.

Para isso, esses golpistas podem programar seus ataques para ocorrerem durante a madrugada ou nos finais de semana, quando a sua equipe de monitoramento está menos ativa.

Para se proteger, implemente um monitoramento contínuo das suas campanhas, 24 horas por dia, 7 dias por semana, e utilize ferramentas de detecção de anomalias para identificar padrões de tráfego incomuns.

Geo-targeting

A técnica de geo-targeting consiste em exibir anúncios falsos ou redirecionar o tráfego apenas para usuários localizados em determinadas regiões geográficas, dificultando a identificação dessas ameaças.

Além disso, os concorrentes desleais podem segmentar seus ataques para países ou cidades com menor fiscalização ou onde a sua empresa não possui uma presença forte.

Para se proteger, monitore o tráfego das suas campanhas por região geográfica e investigue qualquer aumento repentino no tráfego de áreas incomuns ou irrelevantes para o seu negócio.

Como proteger a sua marca do ads hijacking?

A proteção da sua marca contra o ads hijacking exige uma abordagem proativa e abrangente, que envolve desde a implementação de medidas de proteção robustas até o monitoramento contínuo das suas campanhas.

Um estudo da Mastercard revelou que 64% das empresas brasileiras são alvos de ataques digitais com média ou alta frequência, o que demonstra a importância de investir em marketing de blindagem para proteger seus ativos e a confiança dos seus clientes.

A seguir, apresentamos algumas das principais medidas que você pode tomar para proteger a sua marca do ads hijacking:

Proteja as suas palavras-chaves

O primeiro passo para se defender do ads hijacking é proteger suas palavras-chave.

Para isso, monitore ativamente quem está utilizando o nome da sua marca em anúncios e, caso identifique o uso indevido, denuncie os casos de brand bidding nas plataformas de publicidade, solicitando a remoção dos anúncios infratores.

Para fortalecer ainda mais a sua proteção, considere registrar suas palavras-chave como marca registrada, impedindo que concorrentes se aproveitem do seu nome para atrair tráfego.

Denuncie casos suspeitos

A identificação de atividades suspeitas exige uma ação rápida e eficaz. Therefore, when you come across suspicious ads, fake pages or any indication of ads hijacking, report the case to both the advertising platforms and the competent authorities. If you work with affiliate marketing, establish a clear partnership policy that expressly prohibits the use of ad hijacking techniques. successful and conflict-free affiliates.

Bet on Branddi monitoring

As we have said many times, continuous monitoring is the key to protecting your brand from ads hijacking. Therefore, Branddi offers complete brand monitoring solutions, which use cutting-edge technology and artificial intelligence to identify suspicious activities in real time. of ads hijacking, allowing a quick and effective response to protect your campaigns and your brand's reputation.

Go to the Branddi website right now and discover how we can help you protect your brand against ads hijacking!

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