Affiliate fraud guardrails for creator programs

Affiliate fraud guardrails for creator programs

Creator affiliate isn't immune to junk traffic and self-dealing. Build guardrails into payout so bad conversions don't drain margin silently.

The pre-payout review (owner: you, trigger: end of cycle):
— Conversion velocity: a spike of conversions in minutes from one creator → flag
— Refund/chargeback rate per creator: if >2x program average → hold payout, investigate
— Self-purchase pattern: same buyer email/device repeatedly under one creator → flag
— Geo mismatch: conversions from regions the creator's audience doesn't cover → flag
— New-account-only conversions: all buyers are throwaway accounts → flag

If X then Y:
— If flagged → move that creator's payout to manual review, don't auto-pay
— If fraud confirmed → clawback clause activates, document and offboard

Definition of done: every payout cycle passes the five-check screen; flagged creators are held, not paid, until cleared.

Rule: bake a clawback + chargeback-window clause into every contract from day one. You can't retroactively add the right to not pay for fraud — write it before the first dollar moves.