Whether you’re just starting your online business or you’ve been at it for years, educating yourself on fraud, its common patterns, popular attack routes and ultimately, your liability is incredibly important. Fraud can affect everything from your carefully-crafted reputation to your bottom line.
This massive amount of continued growth is of course music to the ears of ClickBank’s partners and the industry at large. However, just as the revenue from sales made online continues to escalate so too does the sophistication of fraud attacks and their potential to impact the livelihood and profitability of your business.
The Different Shades of Online Fraud
At its simplest definition fraud is any wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. If you own or operate an online business, there are certain kinds of fraud you become more susceptible to. From spamming techniques and illegal transactions to merchant fraud and phishing, the internet is ripe with opportunities for you to be the victim of fraudulent activity.
But of course, we’re not about to leave you unprotected or unprepared.
ClickBank’s Promise to You
Here at ClickBank, you can breathe easy as we employ powerful fraud protection software which is hard at work 24/7 securing you against any fraudulent activity, big or small. Best of all? This service comes to you completely free as a ClickBank partner. We want you to spend your time doing what you do best and we will take care of all the rest.
An Investment in Knowledge Pays the Best Interest
Part of our commitment to empowering entrepreneurs just like you is not only providing the peace-of-mind which comes with our comprehensive protection, but also giving you the tools, the resources and the education to better grasp the issues directly impacting your online business.
Below, you will find a brief overview on some of the most prevalent varieties of fraud in the e-commerce world.
Affiliate Fraud
“Any type of illegal activity designed with the intention of cheating merchants, other affiliates or buyers. Fraudulent affiliates mislead merchants into paying commissions they shouldn’t be paying.”
Affiliate fraud can manifest in several ways:
- Spamming
- Bulk email sends to customers with the hopes of more emails = more income
- Fake Clicks or Referrals
- Using scripts or software which imitates the actions of typical human behavior online
- Mimicking Content
- Cloning the style and content of a site in order mislead and misdirect prospects to a wrong site where a conversion will take place
How ClickBank Helps
Exclusive Whitelists
Think of our Exclusive Whitelist feature as a magic key, only granted by you, allowing hand-selected affiliates you’ve carefully approved to promote your product. Any vendor on the ClickBank platform can implement this feature into their account. To learn more about how to get started check out our Knowledge Base entry right here.
Vendor Spotlight and Affiliate Tools
Take control of your marketing materials. The “Vendor Spotlight” section of the Affiliate Marketplace supplies affiliates with the banners, email copy and other marketing pieces made by you, for you. These affiliate tools are easily uploaded into your account and freely- accessible to all products listed on the ClickBank Marketplace. Learn more about this platform feature right here.
Friendly Fraud
“Friendly fraud occurs when a consumer makes an online shopping purchase with their own credit card and then requests a chargeback form the issuing bank after receiving the purchased goods or services.”
According to AOL Finance, In 2014, friendly fraud cost retailers almost 12-billion dollars. Recognizing and preventing friendly fraud can be tricky for merchants. The reasons consumers can initiate a chargeback, or friendly fraud, can appear to be valid, but in reality, the intentions are nefarious.
As more counts of friendly fraud surface, banks are treating them more cautiously, requiring consumers to bring a bit more to the table when requesting a chargeback.
ClickBank has a number of industry best-practices in place which help reduce the likelihood friendly fraud or a chargeback will occur.
- Every ClickBank product must honor our 60-day, no questions asked refund policy
- Fully-staffed, on-site call center operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, giving your customers answers right form the source
- Proprietary fraud prevention software which carefully looks at every transaction on the ClickBank platform and assess the likelihood of fraudulent activity occurring as a result.
- For more information, check out our Knowledge Base entry on refunds and chargebacks right here.
Other Varieties of Fraud
Outside of the above, fraud comes in several other shapes and sizes. Below are a few other examples of fraud affecting e-commerce businesses.
Clean Fraud
- Anything but clean. Clean fraud comes from a purchase made on a stolen credit card but, the transaction is manipulated in such a way fraud detection functions are avoided.
Cart Testing
- Using a stolen credit card to make small test purchases to see if the credit card is functional
Merchant Fraud
- When a product or a service is offered at a cheap price but then never shipped and the payment is kept.
Partnered with ClickBank, you can rest assured every transaction which comes through the ClickBank platform is carefully analyzed by our state-of-the-art protection services as well as a team of highly-trained individuals. Our fraud team’s mission is to catch the bad guys, letting you focus on what’s most important, your business.
ClickBank and Supporting Your Continued Success
Do you have additional questions? Perhaps you need additional help implementing your affiliate tools or the exclusive whitelist mentioned above? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Our support team is standing by, ready to help you reach your goals. Find us at support@clickbank.com
Download the ClickBank Guide to Reduce Refunds for more insightful tips to managing chargebacks and refunds.