Affiliate Fraud Score
An affiliate fraud score is a numerical risk rating assigned to affiliate traffic or conversions, indicating the likelihood of fraudulent activity.
What it means in practice
An affiliate fraud score is a composite numerical rating that evaluates the likelihood of fraudulent or low-quality activity within an affiliate's referred traffic. The score is typically calculated by combining multiple risk signals — such as duplicate IP addresses, abnormal click patterns, suspicious conversion timing, device fingerprint anomalies, and geographic mismatches — into a single metric that operators can use for decision-making.
Fraud scoring differs from binary affiliate fraud detection in that it operates on a spectrum rather than a pass/fail basis. A high score might trigger automatic hold on commissions pending review, while a moderate score could flag the affiliate for manual investigation without blocking payouts. This graduated approach helps operators avoid false positives that damage relationships with legitimate affiliates while still catching systematic click fraud, cookie stuffing, and self-referral patterns.
Effective fraud scoring requires historical data to establish baselines. A new affiliate with 100% mobile traffic from a single country is not inherently suspicious, but the same pattern from an affiliate who historically sent desktop-heavy traffic from diverse geos might be. By tracking traffic quality scores over time and correlating them with actual player behavior — deposit rates, churn, and lifetime value — operators refine their scoring models to distinguish genuine risk from legitimate traffic variation.
How Affiliate Fraud Score works across industries
See how affiliate fraud score is applied in the verticals Track360 supports, from qualification logic and payout structure to the operational context behind each model.
How Track360 handles this
Track360's fraud detection engine assigns risk scores to affiliate traffic using configurable rule sets and behavioral analysis. Operators can set threshold-based actions — automatic approval, manual review, or commission hold — based on score ranges, and drill into individual conversion details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about affiliate fraud score, how it works in affiliate programs, and where it shows up across Track360's supported verticals.
Fraud scores combine multiple risk signals: IP address patterns, device fingerprints, click-to-conversion timing, geographic consistency, referral volume anomalies, and historical behavior. Each signal is weighted based on its predictive value, and the composite score indicates overall fraud likelihood on a numerical scale.
Related Terms
Affiliate Fraud Detection
The identification and prevention of fraudulent activity in affiliate programs including click fraud, bot traffic, and fake conversions.
Traffic Quality Score
A traffic quality score is a composite metric that evaluates the quality of traffic an affiliate sends, factoring in conversion rates, fraud signals, user behavior, and downstream value to score partner performance.
Click Fraud
Click fraud is the fraudulent practice where fake or manipulated clicks are generated on affiliate tracking links to inflate performance metrics, steal attribution, or trigger unearned commissions.
Cookie Stuffing
Cookie stuffing is the fraudulent practice of placing affiliate tracking cookies on a user's browser without their knowledge or any genuine click, allowing the affiliate to claim unearned commissions when the user later converts organically.
Self-Referral Fraud
Self-referral fraud occurs when an affiliate creates accounts or makes purchases through their own tracking link to earn commissions on their own activity rather than genuinely referred customers.
Bonus Abuse
Bonus abuse is the practice of players systematically exploiting promotional offers -- such as welcome bonuses, free spins, or deposit matches -- to extract value with minimal risk or genuine play.
Duplicate Account Detection
Duplicate account detection is the process of identifying when a single person creates multiple accounts to exploit affiliate program incentives such as signup bonuses or CPA offers.
Affiliate Compliance Program
A structured set of rules, monitoring processes, and enforcement mechanisms that ensure affiliates adhere to brand guidelines, regulatory requirements, and promotional standards.
Continue Learning
Free structured courses that cover this topic and more.
Setting Up an iGaming Affiliate Program
iGaming affiliate program setup. GGR vs. NGR, player tracking, MGA/UKGC/Curacao compliance, and how to scale.
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