Ad Injection is a form of ad fraud, a broader category that includes various deceptive practices aimed at manipulating online advertising systems for financial gain. Ad fraud encompasses numerous tactics designed to generate revenue through illegitimate means, often at the expense of advertisers and legitimate publishers.

Ad fraud can take many forms, including Click Fraud, where automated scripts or click farms generate fake clicks on ads; and Impression Fraud, where ads are loaded in a manner that they are never seen by real users. Ad Injection fits into this category by inserting ads without permission, thus generating revenue through unsolicited ad placements.

Affiliate Fraud involves deceptive practices to generate commissions from affiliate marketing programs. Conversion Fraud, a subset of Affiliate Fraud, manipulates conversion metrics to earn payouts. Ad Injection can play a role here by placing affiliate links or ads on high-traffic sites without authorization, leading to fraudulent conversions and commissions.

Invalid Traffic (IVT) refers to any online traffic that does not come from real users, including bots and automated systems. Traffic Laundering is a technique used to disguise IVT as legitimate traffic. Ad Injection often results in IVT as ads are displayed without genuine user engagement, and can be part of traffic laundering schemes.

Malvertising involves injecting malicious ads into legitimate advertising networks, which can then spread malware to users. While distinct from Ad Injection, both exploit vulnerabilities in online advertising systems. Malicious actors may use ad injection to distribute malvertising, further complicating the landscape of ad fraud.