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127 domains, 2 affiliate accounts: how one ID shuts down a network
Affiliate fraud using your name often looks like a hundred separate sites. Behind them are one or two affiliate accounts. If an account is in your affiliate program, you close it, and the whole network stops earning.
Article · Affiliates · October 17, 2026 · 4 min read
By Vlad Pivnev, Founder & CEO
The account number is in the link
An affiliate ID is the code in a link that shows which affiliate account gets paid. The domain can change every day. The account in the link stays the same, because that account receives the money. The landing site is less stable. The same path led to one casino at 13:22 and to another at 13:47.
- brand-bonus.xx · “Play now” button
- trk-xx.site/redirect?pid=…&btag=a_4471the affiliate ID
- casino-xx.com
We collect this code from every button on every site with your name. Then we group the sites by account, not by domain. The picture changes at once.
For one brand, 127 domains with its name sent customers through one link rotator. A link rotator sends different visits to different sites. At the end of the path, there were only two affiliate IDs. That is two accounts, not 127 separate violators.
Other signs that link a network
A shared affiliate ID is not the only sign. Here are four more from our scans of iGaming brands.
Six domains, one campaign
Six domains with a casino's name sent traffic through one campaign in an ad tracker. Only the site name in the link changed. This is one person, not six.
Seven casinos, one link format
For one brand, the buttons led to seven different casinos. All links used the same ID format. The first six digits are the account number. This points to one affiliate platform, not seven separate cases.
Two brands, one code
Domains with the names of two different brands sent customers to the same affiliate code. One account earned off both names.
Paid by both sides
13 identical sites used a casino's name. Eight sent customers to the casino through three affiliate accounts. Three sent them to competitors. The network owner earns from you and from them.
One email instead of 127 complaints
We send you the list of affiliate IDs from every page that uses your name. You check them against your affiliate program. Then there are two paths.
The account is in your program
You close the account or hold back the commission. One email to your own program does the work of 127 complaints. The network stops earning off your name.
The account is not yours
We file against every domain in the network at once: search engines, the hosting provider and the registrar. If a domain comes back, we take it down again.
Sometimes the list is longer than you expect. For one casino, 24 sites had a referral code in their links to the casino. The codes belonged to 12 different accounts. Only the brand knows which of them are its own partners. That's why we wait for your “not ours” before we file anything.
The same number protects your own sites. We take the affiliate number from your official pages first. If a site with your name carries that number, it belongs to your network or to your SEO contractor. We don't call it abuse.
FAQ
Do you need access to our affiliate program?
No. We read affiliate IDs from the links on pages that use your name. You check them against your program.
An affiliate on our allowlist sends customers to a competitor. Will you see it?
Yes. We click an allowlisted affiliate's button like any other, and more than once. You get the affiliate ID, where the button leads and the date.
Related pages
We read the affiliate ID on every page that uses your name and group the sites by account. You decide which accounts to close.
Affiliate hijacking → · iGaming → · Get a free brand audit →
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