Affiliate Programs

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Well, for many, many years they said it would happen one day, and now it has. Commission Junction, BeFree and ValueClick have been named in a class action lawsuit over allowing AdWare companies access to their networks.

Here is what AffiliateFairPlay.Com had to say;

The lawsuits allege breach of contract, negligence and unfair business practices on CJ/BF’s part by allowing adware affiliates to operate within their Network. The gist of it seems to be that CJ/BF has knowingly allowed adware affiliates within their Network which commit commission theft and fraudulent transactions through adware applications.

Personally, I’m very happy to see this happen. If you’re an affiliate marketer, you’d better be happy too unless you enjoy watching your commissions be siphoned off by parasites.

What is a ‘Parasite’ or Adware. The best way I can explain it is to give you an example.

Let’s say you’re an affiliate for a company sellings square widgets. You have a website and you’ve signed up with an affiliate network to be a affiliate with a company that sells square widgets. You put up a website with ads for the square widgets from the Square Widget Company.

Here’s where the scam begins: Many of these Parasite or “adware” companies put out “FREE” tool bars with hidden programs in them. Sally Housemaker and other consumers download these “FREE” toolbars and use them on their computers. These tool bars monitor your internet surfing activity through adware programs. They know where you go, what you look at and what you click on.

Now let’s say Sally Housemaker is looking for a square widget and finds your site, clicks on the size of square widget they want. When she clicks on the link to the square widget she wants, your affiliate ID number goes out to the affiliate network where it is logged and then on to the merchant so the order can be filled.

However, remember that tool bar that Sally Housemaker installed? Well, that ”FREE” toolbar with the hidden adware program intercepts the link with YOUR affiliate ID in it and replaces it with their own affiliate ID and sends it on to the merchant so that THEY get credit for the sale, not you, thus THEY get the commission, not YOU.

As Dr. Phil would say “How is that working out for you?”

For many years a lot of affiliates have tried to make waves over this but the large affiliate networks have ignored them and kept pandering to the large companies with the adware programs. Now it looks like it’s time to pay the fiddler!

You can find out more about Adware and Spyware by checking out the Spyware Warrior.

I hope this is a lesson not only to the Parasite (adware) developers, but to the rest of the affiliate networks that allow these companies free reign. The time of screwing the affiliates is OVER!