'FOOLPROOF' METHODS USED FOR CHEATING
TYPICAL AFFILIATE SYSTEMS
Flooding...
Client generates a deluge of fake referrals, such as multiple popunders, blind links, html spam, image refs, and exit consoles. Overwhelmed with data, the tracker discards all record of prior (deserving) affiliates to accomodate the new bogus referrals. The real affiliate gets nothing.

Hijacking...
Client buys pop or banner ad space from a web site that he knows promotes certain merchants. Using hidden redirects in his ad he generates fake referrals to those same merchants. Because the fake referrals are more recent, the real affiliate gets nothing.

Leaching...
Consumer unwittingly installs shareware or a virus that tampers with cookies such that commissions are automatically issued to some other party. The real affiliate gets nothing.

Shielding...
In order to avoid the feeling of being tracked, the consumer intentionally retypes the merchant's url directly into the browser rather than following an advertiser's referral link. Affiliate gets nothing.

Diverting...
Affiliate refers traffic to a specific merchant. Instead of doing the best possible job of selling, the merchant confronts the customer with referrals to other products. Some customers leave to buy those products instead. Merchant gets commissions. Affiliate gets nothing.

Siphoning...
Affiliate refers traffic directly to a specific merchant, with a specific account name. Merchant then directs some customers to a product sold under a different account name. Affiliate gets nothing.

Anonymizing...
Consumer or ISP runs filtering software that interferes with conventional tracking methods. Affiliate gets nothing.

Discounting...
Upon seeing a product he would like to purchase, the consumer becomes an affiliate, types in his referral url, and makes the purchase. Real affiliate gets nothing.

Chiseling...
Most affiliate systems are not owned by the payment gateway, and hence can never know the true status of a sale. Merchants can neglect to approve commissions on sales by simply claiming the customer was never billed, or even steal money back from the affiliate by pretending that a refund or chargeback was issued on the sale. Affiliate gets nothing.