Unfortunately, affiliate fraud is a reality. If you detect an affiliate engaging in malicious behavior (such as purchasing their own product through their own link to get a discount, using stolen credit cards, or bidding on forbidden branded search terms), you should ban them immediately.
How to Ban an Affiliate
- Go to the Affiliates tab.
- Search for the specific affiliate.
- Click the three dots
...next to their name and select Ban Affiliate.
What happens when an affiliate is banned?
When you ban an affiliate, several protective measures kick in automatically:
- Portal Access Revoked: The affiliate is instantly logged out of their portal and cannot log back in.
- Links Deactivated: Any future clicks on their
?ref=links will simply be ignored by our tracking script. No new cookies will be set. - Commissions Frozen: Any Pending commissions associated with this affiliate are permanently frozen. They will not be cleared for payout.
Existing Subscriptions
If the banned affiliate had referred customers on active recurring subscriptions, those subscriptions will stop generating commissions for the banned affiliate. You (the merchant) will now keep 100% of the recurring revenue from those customers.
[!WARNING] Banning an affiliate is an irreversible action. If you are unsure if an affiliate is fraudulent, it is better to reach out to them via email to ask for clarification on their promotional methods before dropping the ban hammer.