Affiliate Fraud

Ways affiliates
drain your budget

From hidden redirects to brand abuse — these fraud tactics cost businesses millions. Here’s what you need to know.

Book a demo See the tactics

Studies show ad fraud costs brands up to 22% of their online ad spend

Source: Juniper Research

The real cost of fraud

The numbers behind the crime.

$100B+
Total digital ad fraud losses in 2024
Juniper Research
17%
Of online clickthroughs are invalid traffic
Juniper Research
99.4%
Detection and takedown success rate
AdPolice case data

Source: Juniper Research, “Quantifying the Cost of Ad Fraud 2023–2028”. Takedown success rate based on internal AdPolice case data.

Know your enemy

Seven tactics on our most-wanted list.

Case 01 Most wanted

Ad hijacking

Copied search ads steal your customers — and the commission.

Evidence AdPolice captures
  • Redirect chain
  • Affiliate ID
  • Timestamped screenshot
Case 02

Brand bidding

Bids on your brand terms, takes credit for your conversions.

Case 03

Browser extensions

Swaps legitimate affiliate codes for fraudulent ones.

Case 04

Domain squatting

Look-alike domains earn commissions on your traffic.

Case 05

Coupon code abuse

Leaked codes erode margins and distort attribution.

Case 06

Adware & malware

Hijacked traffic, redirected for fake conversions.

Case 07

Malicious sites

Brand impersonation harvests data and fakes sales.

How AdPolice stops fraud

Four steps from detection to takedown.

A simple, four-step process that catches fraudsters before they drain your budget.

  1. Step 01

    Detect

    Our AI continuously scans 25+ search engines and monitors 700 TLDs and 60+ coupon sources to catch hijacking, brand bidding, and domain squatting.

  2. Step 02

    Verify

    We reveal hidden affiliate details using advanced decloaking tech, exposing who’s behind the fraud — even when they try to hide it.

  3. Step 03

    Document

    Every violation is automatically logged with screenshots, timestamps, and technical details for legal action and dispute resolution.

  4. Step 04

    Act

    Automated takedowns, instant partner bans, and automatic platform submissions. Stop fraud faster than it spreads.

Built for scale, designed for you

What sets AdPolice apart.

We combine cutting-edge AI detection with simple, hands-on management. Catch more fraud with less effort.

24/7 automated monitoring

Continuous scanning across search engines, affiliate networks, coupon sites, and browser extensions. Fraudsters work round the clock — so does AdPolice.

Advanced decloaking technology

Our AI mimics legitimate user behavior to bypass obfuscation techniques and expose hidden affiliate networks, cloaked redirects, and masked commission structures — even when fraudsters use sophisticated layering.

Instant takedowns

Built-in task manager for automated removals. Warn, ban, or cancel commissions instantly without leaving the platform.

Compliance dashboard

Track all violations in one place. See status, submission history, and success rates. Export for legal documentation.

Smart filtering

Set custom rules per region, partner, and keyword. Automatically whitelist authorized partners and focus on real threats.

Global search coverage

Monitors Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Baidu and many more — 25+ search engines worldwide.

Connect everywhere

Every network. One command center.

Direct API connections to your affiliate networks — detections flow in, takedowns flow out. Automatically.

AdPolice Command center
Google AWIN Impact Tradedoubler Partnerize Custom APIs

Warn. Ban. Cancel commissions. Enforcement actions reach your networks in seconds — not support tickets.

Trusted by leading brands

What our customers report.

The costs of the solution have amortized after one month for a year in advance.

Installing AdPolice inside the Condor airlines' performance marketing team brought significant improvements to the cost allocation of performance marketing budgets. Approximately 30,000 € in commissions were saved from detecting fraudulent partners.

Matthias Knobloch Matthias Knobloch Head of Digital Performance · Condor

Thanks to AdPolice's innovative and dynamic tool, I've been catching ad-hijackers at a never before seen level.

One instance included an ad-hijacker who was utilising multiple agencies to mask their activity, but as AdPolice had identified the Google Transparency account (and made it easy to locate), we were able to connect them to multiple different accounts and successfully block all of their activity. I couldn't recommend the tool and the team enough!

Tom Sams Tom Sams Network Quality and Compliance Manager · Tradedoubler

AdPolice has been a game-changer in reducing affiliate fraud and protecting our brand.

We are extremely satisfied with its customizable tool, which seamlessly manages our global account across multiple countries and brands. Our Key Account Manager is highly responsive and solution-driven, ensuring we maximize the tool's benefits. What impresses me most is how efficiently it detects and combats unauthorized brand use.

Eva Morhacova Head of Global VHC Affiliate Marketing · Vision Healthcare
Frequently asked questions

Affiliate fraud, explained.

What is affiliate fraud?

Affiliate fraud is any activity where partners claim commissions they didn't legitimately earn — including ad hijacking, brand bidding, cookie stuffing via browser extensions, domain squatting, coupon code abuse, and adware. Juniper Research puts total digital ad fraud losses at over $100 billion in 2024.

What is ad hijacking?

Ad hijacking is when a fraudster copies your brand's paid search ads, captures customers who were searching for you, and routes the transaction through an affiliate network to claim an undeserved commission. Because the ad looks identical to yours, it is invisible to customers — and often to standard monitoring.

What is brand bidding?

Brand bidding is when third parties bid on your brand keywords in paid search — intercepting high-intent customers and taking credit for conversions they didn't drive. It inflates your CPCs, cannibalizes organic revenue, and often violates affiliate program terms.

How do I detect affiliate fraud?

Reliable detection requires high-frequency, time- and geo-targeted scanning, because fraudsters schedule ads for nights, weekends, and regions where you aren't watching. AdPolice scans 25+ search engines, 700 TLDs, and 60+ coupon sources continuously, and uses AI decloaking to expose hidden affiliate IDs and cloaked redirects.

How do I stop ad hijackers?

Stopping hijackers requires evidence and enforcement: every violation must be documented with screenshots, timestamps, and the responsible affiliate ID, then reported to the network. AdPolice automates the full chain — detection, evidence collection, and takedown submissions directly to networks like AWIN, Impact, Rakuten, Tradedoubler, and Partnerize.

How much does affiliate fraud cost brands?

Industry research suggests brands lose up to 22% of their online ad spend to ad fraud (Juniper Research), and 17% of online clickthroughs are invalid traffic. Individual brands frequently discover five- to six-figure annual losses once monitoring is in place.

Ready to see the evidence?See your fraud risk in real time.

Get a personalized fraud audit and discover how much budget you’re losing — live during a demo call.

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