Affiliate Fraud

Affiliate fraud is a deceptive practice where a fraudster, pretending to be a legitimate affiliate marketer, manipulates traffic or makes fraudulent purchases to earn higher payouts. This manipulation can involve using automated bots and scripts that click on ads repeatedly while cycling through different IP addresses to mimic genuine user interaction. Additionally, fraudsters may employ stolen payment credentials to execute fraudulent transactions. By doing so, they illegitimately claim credit for conversions. The scheme typically unravels when chargebacks begin, as a result of the fraudulent activities being detected, leaving merchants and advertisers to face financial losses. This type of fraud not only undermines the integrity of affiliate marketing programs but also causes significant financial and reputational damage to the involved parties.