This 21st-century affiliate marketing industry has already become quite common. Calling it a mainstay of digital marketing efforts is not an exaggeration. Companies pay thousands of affiliates daily to generate customers for their websites.
But as with other industries where making money is integral, enter the fraudsters. These malicious actors take advantage of unsuspecting marketers & companies to steal their advertisement revenues. Do you know ad fraud can translate to income for fraudsters?
Affiliate marketing fraud would steal money from an organization's marketing budget. And fraudsters get the profit without generating any real business. Various types of affiliate fraud are there. But the million-dollar question is how to stop them.
It's worth noting that the world's most accurate fraud solution prevents web assets by eliminating malware & human fraud. It ensures that the services and products get viewed by real people. But before this post enlightens you about the best click fraud protection solutions, let's learn important aspects of ad fraud, including the types.
Affiliate or Ad Fraud in a Nutshell
Affiliate fraud is the practice that allows you to view, click, convert, and generate fake interactions with web assets to earn money indirectly or directly. Did you know around 48% of malware attacks come from adware?
In the post-pandemic epoch, affiliate or ad frauds have become quite common. Affiliates use these illegitimate techniques to attract traffic for advertisers only to earn a commission.
Such methods involve injecting affiliate cookies into a system via adware. It also involves displaying unauthorized ads and using non-existing or expired coupons. Given below are the fraud types that are most prevalent in today's digitalized space:
Elucidating the Types of Affiliate Fraud
Cookie Stuffing
An illegitimate technique, cookie stuffing, is when affiliates drop different cookies on a company's browser via adware. The basic intention is to monetize sales from the browser. A company can protect its marketing budget with effective affiliate monitoring solutions.
Cookie Hijacking
Did you know around 31% of e-commerce applications are vulnerable to cookie hijacking? In this process, the affiliate cookie gets inserted by distributing adware via software applications or web browser extensions. The attackers control the entire session on the advertiser's website. They monitor the stolen cookies.
Adware Round Tripping
Affiliate traps are a common concern for brands in today's era. And adware round-tripping is a common issue. In this process, adware gets installed on the system with web browser extensions & mac or Windows apps. Nefarious adware changes browser behavior injects cookies and collects user information.
This technique deceives advertisers by stealing genuine buyers. Affiliates use them to navigate users from advertisers' websites. They also redirect them to the advertiser's website. To monitor sales, malicious actors also inject cookies.
Typosquatting
Also referred to as URL hijacking, typosquatting is a prominent form of cybersquatting. Malicious actors buy misspelled domain names that are similar to genuine brand names. So, if a user makes an error while typing the domain name, they get directed to these websites. Various typosquatting methods fraudsters implement include the following:
- Combo Squatting
- Wrong Extensions
- Typos
- Misspellings
- Faking the prefix and more
Misleading Deals
The technique draws buyers' attention by displaying exciting coupons and deals with improper labeling. Misleading deals are nothing but deceiving offers &coupons that affiliates advertise to grab buyers' attention. They redirect traffic to the advertiser's website, thereby increasing sales and earning a commission.
Paid Ads Violation
Did you know 65% of online customers click on paid advertisements every month? And nefarious affiliates can consume the ad campaign budgets by bidding on the keywords. So, you may lose 20% of your marketing budget to pay-per-click frauds. With the right paid ads violation prevention solutions, you can:
- Protect your brand reputation
- Enhance your customers' experience
- Save your advertising budget
Competitor Ads
Competitor ads are the affiliate traps. Malicious affiliates use them to distract legitimate purchasers on any marketer's page. They showcase lucrative deals from competitors. So, advertisers may lose on the brand reputation & brand revenues.
Brand Infringement
At times, nefarious publishers also use brand assets to attract users. These assets include the brand logo, name, and other creatives of the established brand. They use the brand name to build their user base and earn a commission.
Brand infringement is a common tactic used by affiliates to defraud brands. Repercussions associated with brand infringement are plenty:
- Reduced consumer trust
- Reputational damage
- Loss of ad funds
Sweep Stakes
It's another affiliate trap where purchasers' information gets collected via a campaign. Mainly, it offers a reward for winning contestants. Nefarious affiliates collect them for selling to other marketing companies. Seek consultation from a company for ad fraud detection solutions.
Improper Influence
Publishers may use the method to deceive users by redirecting them to the advertiser's or competitor's page without their consent or permission. Such a type of fraud causes reputational damage to a brand. So, they lose their customers' trust.
Eliminate Ad Fraud with VPT's Solutions
As one of the best ad fraud detection companies, VPT can assist you with accurate solutions. A pioneer in affiliate fraud management solutions, Virus Positive Technologies, can offer solutions for brand infringement detection, analyzing, and monitoring affiliate networks. Allow the team to offer a comprehensive solution.