You may know all the affiliate marketing mistakes to avoid, but what you may not know is that you might be falling right into a fraud trap! Before you try to steer clear of actual mistakes, it’s important to also learn the affiliate marketing scams that’s prevalent in today’s online landscape. It’s more common than you think, but fret not. We’re here to help you pinpoint some of the biggest (and even some of the most not-so-obvious) scams going around.
If you’re ready to protect your finances and your potential for affiliate marketing, keep on reading to get into the scams to avoid!
Is Affiliate Marketing Safe?
It’s important to know that when understanding affiliate marketing scams, the majority of this business is legitimate and above board. Furthermore, if you get into just the right program, it can be safe, plus a very lucrative way to make money while you sleep.
Of course, no industry is perfect, and affiliate marketing has its pros and cons, just like every other business.
And some of those cons, well, there’s always a few stink bombs that mess it up for everyone else. But affiliate marketing itself is a real deal. You promote another business’s brilliant products people buy through your link, you get paid. Millions do it, big brands love it, and most of the time, there’s nothing sketchy about it.
Nevertheless, it’s important to stay vigilant still against affiliate marketing scams! So with that, below are the pitfalls most victims fall for when some affiliate partners are just starting out.
Affiliate Marketing Scams for Affiliate Marketers
Get-Rich-Quick Schemes
The oldest trick in the affiliate marketing scams book? Get-rich-quick schemes. These scammers lure you in with some might even say impossibly high commission in exchange for promoting their stuff, but the products are usually not good, if non-existent.
Now, scams like these tend to be tricky.
Why? Because some legitimate businesses actually do offer high payouts, but these scammers take it a step further by copying off their business models. They’re peddling products or services that are often worthless. Plus, the whole setup is designed to avoid paying you anything substantial.
Cookie Stuffing
Imagine you’re browsing online for cookies (the yummy kind, not the internet kind). Suddenly, a website shoves a bunch of weird cookies (the internet kind) into your browser without you even noticing. That’s what the internet calls cookie stuffing!
As far as affiliate marketing scams, these shady websites sneak these cookies in to trick advertisers into thinking they sent you there, even if though you found the real store somewhere else. So the fake website gets the commission, even though they did absolutely nothing!
This hurts everyone.
Cookies are little trackers that keep tabs on your online moves, and these usually help determine if your referrals are coming from your affiliate links. And with this scam, real companies lose money because they’re paying for customers they didn’t get. Plus, legit affiliates lose out on commissions they deserve because of cookie stuffing.
Pay-to-Join Programs
Thankfully, pay-to-join programs rarely pop up on the internet. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look out for them as one of the affiliate marketing scams! Better safe than sorry, as people always say.
It’s important to note that affiliate marketing should be free to join. As a partner, you’re promoting their products, so really, they should be thanking you, not the other way around! Some programs might have requirements, sure, like needing a certain number of followers or experience, but they won’t ask you to pay in.
Remember: you’re doing the work, and there’s no risk for them if you don’t make sales.
Fake Products
Say you’ve just joined a sports betting affiliate program, but hear back from referrals that they’re not getting their winnings on bets. Unfortunately, you and your referrals may have just fallen for fake products.
These scammers tend to sell cheap knock-offs of real brand-name stuff. And sometimes, they don’t even bother sending the fake ones—they just take the customer’s money and run!
Digital products may be even worse because you pay for something you can download, but surprise! There’s nothing there. And guess what? Their “customer support” is about as helpful as a white crayon on a white paper. Not to mention how this affects the affiliate partners themselves, whose reputation goes down the drain and may even be called a scammer themselves for redirecting their referrals to a fake.
Phishing
Another one of the affiliate marketing scams to avoid is phishing. And yes, it happens even beyond the usual businesses. With this scam, scammers create fake websites and emails that look like real affiliate programs. They trick you into giving them your login info or personal details, and the next thing you know, your data’s getting sold to the highest dark web bidder.
And it’s not just websites and emails. These scammers tend to lurk on social media and messaging apps too.
They might even steal brand logos from popular affiliate platforms to pretend they’re the real deal, so be extra vigilant when signing up for certain programs. Those things might just be a one-way ticket to getting your private information exposed online!
Fake Reviews
In line with fake products stands everyone’s most hated of the affiliate marketing scams: fake reviews. Affiliate marketing scammers might come up with fake, glowing reviews or ratings to trick you into thinking it’s a great product. Then, inadvertently, having you buy the product even if it’s not as great as it actually is—or may not even exist at all.
Fake websites and stores are also common with this type of scam, and even gives away fake discounts or products that are non-existent. Not only does this lose trust in real content types like reviews, but you, as a partner, may even end up losing money trying to fight back the competition that’s gone above the legitimate reviews.
Pyramid Schemes and MLMs
Been there, seen that with affiliate marketing scams like pyramid schemes and programs disguised as MLMs (multi-level marketing). These are programs that tend to lure you in with “training” but really just want you to recruit others, not sell anything.
If it’s got:
- Sketchy income models
- Asks you to pay upfront before joining
- Prioritizes bringing in more people over sales
Then you’ve got yourself an affiliate marketing program that’s a straight up pyramid scheme with no real income ending!
Affiliate Marketing Scams Targeting Companies
Google Ad Hijacking
Even scammers love to target companies who are just trying to make an honest affiliate marketing business model. Ad hijacking is simply one of their ways. It’s a trick where scammers copy the company’s brand and run fake Google ads using the very same keywords as you do.
This makes it even harder for potential affiliate partners to find your real ad.
Not only that, but one of their other affiliate marketing scams is to send potential partners on a little detour through their own suspicious websites. This loses companies out on people willing to join their programs, and potentially even lose their trust after being redirected to the fake sites.
Transaction Frauds
Ever get an affiliate marketing lead that seems fishy? Unfortunately, it’s one of the affiliate marketing scams that happens—and you might have a fake affiliate partner in your midst. This particular scam involves creating fake affiliate partners, and you don’t even realize you’re sending them your potential customers’ way.
These scammers use stolen info (probably from phishing other affiliate partners) that may seem real. In the end, you might even end up paying this fake partner for nothing at all.
Click Fraud
Click Frauds are pretty common affiliate marketing scams that tricks the system. These scammers use sneaky programs that make it look like tons of people are clicking on your ads. When in reality? All of it is fake!
This not only messes with your company’s date, but can also cost you a lot of money for advertising to fake clicks.
How to Protect Yourself From Affiliate Marketing Fraud
Alright, so you’ve learned about the ugly side of affiliate marketing. Not a great thing to come across, so, let’s talk about how to spot the actual good guys who want to help you gain money!
Here’s how to find legitimate affiliate marketing programs and avoid scams:
- Read the Fine Print. Check the company’s terms and conditions. A good program will be clear about how it works, what you earn, and how you get paid. Beware of crazy high commissions or promises that sound too good to be true.
- Ask Around. See if you can find testimonials from other affiliates. Reviews online (and not ones written to create affiliate marketing scams!) can also be helpful. Look for people talking about the program’s pros, cons, and how they get paid. This will help you decide if it’s a good fit.
- Test Out Support. New to affiliate marketing? See if the company has good customer support. Check their website for a phone number or email and reach out. Responsive support with resources to help you is a good sign.
- Company Checkup. Research the company’s history to avoid affiliate marketing scams. Do they have info on their program’s growth or number of affiliates? Look for news articles or reviews to see their track record. A company that’s been around for a while is usually a good sign.
- Google It. This goes without saving, but a vigilant googling of the program online wouldn’t hurt. You’ll likely find reviews, both good and bad. This can help you separate the real deal from the scams.
- Fraud Fighters. Legit programs take fraud seriously. See if they have an anti-fraud policy or system in place. If you can’t find anything, ask their customer support.
- Free to Play. Most affiliate programs are free to join. If they ask you to pay upfront, it’s likely a scam waiting to happen.
By following these tips, you’ll be well on your way to finding trustworthy affiliate programs and avoiding any affiliate marketing scams!
