During peak periods, unusual activity can appear more frequently. This article explains how to spot potential fraudulent behavior early so you can protect your program’s performance and keep operations running smoothly.
What to check
Review referring URLs
Download the Transactions report (Reports > Transactions) and look at the referring URLs for each sale. This helps you verify whether partners are driving legitimate traffic to your website.
Check that the URL matches the partner’s approved placement.
Audit any sites that appear unfamiliar or unrelated to your brand.
Look for unusual performance patterns
Unusual performance may indicate manipulation. Watch for:
Very high conversion rates.
Extremely short latency times between the click and the transaction.
In some cases, orders may show a high onsite conversion rate but fail once processed or delivered.
Check IP address activity
Review the IP addresses associated with each order.
If multiple orders originate from the same IP address, a partner may be submitting orders themselves, signalling little or no real customer engagement.
This can also reveal instances where a single user on an incentive site is trying to claim cashback or rewards without genuine purchase intent.
What are the next steps?
If you identify suspicious or fraudulent behavior:
Decline the suspicious transaction: Use the Validate pending transactions tool to decline any order you believe to be fraudulent.
Contact our support team: Reach out to our support team so you can flag the partner’s behavior. Our team will review the activity and take appropriate action. If you have a dedicated Awin contact, please reach out to them. If not, you can get in touch with our support team by filling out the contact form.