Sale Defend fraud protection
Every AFFN program includes Sale Defend. It checks each sale as it arrives and holds suspicious ones so you review them before you owe anything.
How it works
- 1A visitor clicks a partner link. AFFN records the time, referring page and browser.
- 2Your store reports the sale. Sale Defend compares the sale to its click and gives it a risk score from 0 to 100.
- 3Scores of 50 or more are held as pending — they don't count toward what you owe until you decide.
What it checks
| Signal | Severity | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Fast conversion | High | Sale reported under 10 seconds after the click — the cookie-stuffing signature. Always held. |
| Outside cookie window | High | Sale came after your program's cookie days ran out. |
| Bot / automated browser | High | The click came from a crawler or headless browser. |
| Coupon hijack | High | The click came from a coupon or cash-back extension site (Honey, RetailMeNot, etc.). |
| Browser extension | Medium | The click looks injected by a toolbar or extension. |
| IP velocity | Medium / High | 8+ (medium) or 20+ (high) clicks from the same IP in 24 hours. |
| No referrer | Low | No referring page — common with hidden iframes and pop-unders. |
Points add up: High = 40, Medium = 20, Low = 10, capped at 100.
Where you see it in AFFN
- Conversions page — a shield badge with the score appears next to each risky sale. Hover it to see each reason.
- Flagged by Sale Defend tab — every sale scoring 50+ in one place.
- Payouts — held and reversed sales are left out of what you owe partners.
- API & Sale Defend page — connect the standalone Sale Defend app or your own systems.
Reviewing a flagged sale
- Approve — it looks legitimate; the commission counts.
- Reject — fraud; no commission is owed.
- Reverse — for refunds or fraud found later. Add a reason; the partner sees it, and if you already paid, it becomes a credit against their next payout.
Nothing is ever deleted, so you keep a full record. You can select many sales and act on them at once.
Automatic clawbacks
Want reversals to happen without logging in? Create an API key and let Sale Defend (or your store) reverse sales automatically. See the Sale Defend & API guide.
Test your setup
- Set an accurate cookie window on your program
- Check the Flagged tab weekly
- Add a clear reason whenever you reverse a sale
- Mention reversals for fraud in your program terms