Polygraph, a cybersecurity firm specializing in click fraud detection and prevention, is warning pay-per-click affiliate scheme operators to be aware of scammers generating fake clicks on their links.
Click fraud is a sophisticated cybercrime which steals billions of dollars from advertisers every year. The scam comes in various forms, and typically uses bots to generate fake clicks on online advertisements.
According to Trey Vanes, Polygraph’s head of marketing, Polygraph is currently tracking multiple click fraud gangs who have branched out into pay-per-click affiliate fraud.
“Click fraud uses bots to generate fake clicks on ads,” said Vanes. “Scammers create websites, put ads on them, and program bots to visit their scam websites and click on the ads. If done correctly, the scammers get paid for every fake click, costing advertisers billions of dollars every year.
“Always looking for new ways to make money, the scammers are applying their tried and tested bots to pay-per-click affiliate schemes, taking advantage of the often less than ideal click fraud detection systems put in place by the affiliate operators.
“Polygraph are experts at detecting fake clicks on adverts and affiliate links,” added Vanes.
Vanes says Polygraph has helped affiliate operators detect millions of fake clicks on their pay-per-click links.
“Some affiliate schemes use a pay-per-click model,” said Vanes. “The idea here is affiliates send targeted traffic to pay-per-click links, and get paid a small fee, typically a few cents, for every click.
“Click fraud scammers are pretending to be legitimate affiliates, and use their existing bots to generate millions of fake clicks on the pay-per-click links. We’ve caught multiple click fraud gangs doing this, and have helped affiliate operators protect their affiliate programmes from scammers.”
Polygraph helps affiliate scheme operators detect click fraud, prevent click fraud, and understand how scammers are generating fake clicks on their pay-per-click affiliate links.
“We’re able to detect even the most sophisticated bots,” said Vanes. “We tell you who is generating fake clicks on your links, how they’re doing it, and how to block their fraud, so you can easily defend your affiliate schemes from scammers.
“Polygraph goes beyond bot detection. Some fraudsters use real people to click on adverts and links, often without the people’s knowledge. We can detect this too,” added Vanes.
Polygraph is easy to use, and they are available 24/7 if you have any questions about pay-per-click click fraud.
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