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Affiliate fraud detection with the rules in plain sight

Ten signals score every partner and every new referral. Commissions above your risk threshold are held for review before any money moves. The rules are published in the docs.
Start freeRead the docs
OpenPromoter Fraud page with open flags, held commissions, high-risk partners and the list of checks
fraud signals with published rules
10
fraud signals with published rules
risk score for every referral
0–100
risk score for every referral
includes every check
Every plan
includes every check

The problem

Affiliate fraud shows up after the money is gone

A partner buys through their own link or leaks a code to coupon sites. Another bids on your brand name.

Most programs find out once the commission is paid. Some tools also keep fraud checks for their higher plans.

How OpenPromoter solves it

Every referral is scored before anything is paid

Ten published rules score every partner and every new referral from 0 to 100. Commissions at or above your threshold are held until you review them.

  • Self-referral by email and network
  • Duplicate accounts
  • Payout accounts shared between partners
  • Coupon leaking
  • Paid ads on your brand
  • Bot traffic and click bursts
  • Refunds after payout
  • Rules that need no AI key

The real screens

Captured from the demo program in the OpenPromoter app.

Partners > Ethan ParkPartner page for Ethan Park with a risk 82 badge and two fraud signals beside his commissions
A partner page shows the risk score and each fraud signal that matched.
CommissionsCommissions list filtered to the Held tab
The Held tab lists every commission paused for review.
CommissionsCommission board where held cards read Auto-held with risk score 82
Held cards on the board name the risk score that held them.
AutopilotAutopilot suggestions including pausing Ethan Park because of his risk score
Autopilot uses the same score to suggest pausing a risky partner.

How it works

  1. 01

    A referral arrives

    Each new referral and each partner is checked against ten signals.

  2. 02

    The signals add up

    Every match raises one risk score from 0 to 100.

  3. 03

    Risky commissions are held

    At or above your threshold the commission is held. It stays out of every payout while it waits.

  4. 04

    You decide

    Choose Looks fine to release it. Confirm fraud to ban the partner and keep the commissions held.

The ten affiliate fraud signals

OpenPromoter checks every partner and every new referral against ten signals. They cover the schemes SaaS programs see most. Each signal is a published rule you can read in the security docs.

  • Self-referral

    The partner and the customer are the same person or share an email alias.

  • Same network as partner

    Clicks or signups from the partner's own IP address.

  • Duplicate accounts

    Several referred accounts that look like one person.

  • Shared payout account

    The same PayPal or Wise account on more than one partner.

  • Coupon leaking

    Coupon sales with no partner click behind them.

  • Paid ads on your brand

    Clicks that carry ad click ids such as gclid or msclkid.

  • Suspicious click pattern

    Bursts of clicks that do not behave like people.

  • Bot traffic

    Crawler, headless and scripted user agents.

  • Refunds after payout

    Customers who refund once the commission has been paid.

  • Customers cancel fast

    Referred customers who churn unusually quickly.

A risk score and a review queue

The signals combine into one risk score from 0 to 100. Commissions on referrals above your threshold are held for review. They wait there instead of being approved.

In the review queue you dismiss a flag with Looks fine. Or you confirm it to ban the partner and keep their commissions held.

Self-referral and coupon leaking

Self-referral is a partner buying through their own link to earn the commission. OpenPromoter matches the partner and the customer by email alias and by network.

Coupon leaking starts when a partner's code lands on a coupon site. Buyers the partner never reached use it at checkout. OpenPromoter flags coupon sales that have no partner click behind them.

Brand bidding detection

Brand bidding is a partner running paid search ads on your brand name. It takes credit for buyers who were already looking for you. OpenPromoter flags clicks that carry ad click ids such as gclid or msclkid.

Ban it in your program terms first. The flag then gives you the evidence to act on it.

Hold periods catch the rest

The hold period stops late refunds from becoming lost money. Commissions stay pending through it for 30 days by default. Set it to at least your refund window.

A refund after payout becomes a clawback on the next payout. A lost chargeback reverses the commission.

Fraud checks on every plan

Every OpenPromoter plan runs the same fraud rules. That covers Free Cloud, paid Cloud and self-hosted programs. Scoring is rule-based and needs no AI key.

Elsewhere fraud tools can sit on higher plans. Tolt's Radar is on its Pro plan at $199 a month. Dub lists risk monitoring on Advanced and above.

Sources: Tolt pricing and Dub pricing (November 2026).

The settings involved

These settings control this feature.

Auto-hold at risk score
Settings > Program
Holds commissions from referrals or partners at or above this score.
Refund hold
Settings > Program
Keeps commissions pending long enough for refunds to arrive.
Max risk score
Settings > Applications
The highest score an applicant can have and still be approved automatically.
Blocked countries
Settings > Applications
Applicants from these countries are left out of auto-approve.

Questions

Something else? The docs cover every setting.

Is the fraud scoring done by AI?
No. It is rule-based and needs no AI key. Each signal is listed in the security docs.
What is coupon leaking?
A partner's code ends up on coupon sites and gets used by buyers the partner never reached. OpenPromoter flags coupon sales with no partner click behind them.
How does OpenPromoter detect affiliate self-referral?
It matches the partner and the customer by email, including aliases. It also flags clicks and signups from the partner's own IP address.
What happens to a held commission?
It waits in the review queue. Dismiss the flag and it continues toward approval. Confirm it and the partner is banned with their commissions held.
How do I stop affiliates bidding on my brand?
Say so in your program terms. OpenPromoter flags clicks that arrive from paid search ads. Read how to prevent affiliate fraud for the full list.

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