✅ We Refunded an Advertiser for Traffic from One of Our Own Affiliates. Here's Why.

In the CPA model, a network has two clients: the affiliate, who expects to get paid, and the advertiser, who expects high-quality traffic. Most of the time, their interests align. Sometimes, they don't.

The situation. An advertiser accepted and paid for traffic from one of our affiliates. Later, new information about that affiliate raised concerns: another advertiser classified their traffic as fraudulent, and our verification received the same feedback from at least two CPA networks and two direct advertisers—fraud and/or extremely low-quality traffic.

Technically, we could have done nothing. The traffic for the first offer had already been approved, paid for, and no complaints had been raised at the time.

We chose a different approach—and refunded the advertiser.

✔️ Here's why:
→ Advertisers pay for real players, not numbers in a report. If we have legitimate reasons to question the quality of the traffic, that's our responsibility—not the advertiser's risk.

→ Advertiser trust is the foundation of the entire network. The payouts, exclusives, and terms our affiliates receive exist because advertisers trust us.

→ Honest affiliates benefit from this approach. The cleaner the network's traffic pool, the higher the payouts and the more flexible the KPIs become for everyone else.

A special thank you to our industry colleagues.

There is a private community of CPA networks where only networks participate, sharing information about both scam affiliates and scam advertisers. That's where we requested feedback on this partner—and received confirmation from colleagues who had already dealt with their traffic.

📌 We're glad this community exists. Thank you to everyone involved—you reinforced our confidence that we made the right decision.

📌 What we do consistently:
— verify traffic quality not only before approval but also after payouts;
— request and share feedback on partners within the professional CPA community;
— permanently ban accounts when fraud is confirmed—with no exceptions;
— resolve disputes financially whenever the issue originates from our traffic pool.

Fraud is an industry-wide problem, and it won't be solved by anti-fraud software alone. It requires networks that are willing to take responsibility for their traffic and openly share information. Together, we can make the affiliate industry more transparent, trustworthy, and sustainable.

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Advertisers: discuss cooperation and launch your campaigns here.
Affiliates with high-quality traffic: we've prepared the best conditions for you — browse the 3SNET catalog.

What do you think? Should a CPA network refund advertisers for traffic that was already approved? 👇

🔥 Your Legitimate Traffic Can Be Flagged Because of Someone Else's Bots

AI fraud has reached CPA payouts. As the share of synthetic traffic—bots, multi-accounts, and bonus hunters—continues to grow, operators are tightening their anti-fraud systems. As a result, even legitimate affiliates can get caught in the filter simply because their traffic statistically resembles suspicious activity.

📌 Why the Affiliate Channel Is a Vulnerable Point
Fraud can begin long before users reach the operator's website—in the landing page, pre-landing page, advertising account, affiliate chain, or tracker.

— A long attribution chain: the operator sees the affiliate ID, the network sees the sub ID, and the media buyer sees only the aggregated traffic source. No one has the full picture.
— Different KPIs: affiliates focus on CPA and approval rates, while operators care about NGR and player retention.
— Delayed verification: FTDs appear in reports immediately, while KYC, device checks, and payment verification happen later. By the time a payout dispute arises, the budget has already been spent.

📌 What Protects Your Campaigns — and Your Payouts
The core principle is transparency.

🔹 Use only approved traffic sources. Sending offers to sub-affiliates without permission is a major red flag for anti-fraud systems.
🔹 Keep a complete traffic map: traffic source, campaign, creative, landing page, and sub ID. Save dashboard screenshots, logs, and UTM parameters—they are your evidence in case of a dispute.
🔹 Compare data across your ad platform, tracker, and affiliate network reports. Resolve discrepancies before scaling, not after.
🔹 Look beyond CR2Reg: monitor CR2Dep, KYC pass rate, repeat deposits, and NGR. These are the metrics operators use to determine traffic quality.
🔹 Test every new traffic source with a small budget and scale only after confirming the quality of the cohort.
🔹 If you notice unusual activity, inform your account manager before a payout dispute begins. It shifts your position from "defending yourself" to "working as a partner."


In 2026, success is no longer measured only by FTD volume. The ability to prove the quality and origin of your traffic has become just as important. The strongest partnerships will be those where transparent attribution and predictable payouts go hand in hand. That's exactly the role we see ourselves playing.

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Now be honest 👇

Have you ever had your payouts reduced because of "fraud"?
👍 — Yes, but I proved my traffic was legitimate.
⚡️ — Yes, and I never got the money.
❤️‍🔥 — No, but this post definitely got me thinking.
😂 — I am the fraud.

Have you ever had a payout rejected even though your traffic was completely legitimate? Share your experience in the comments—we'd love to collect real-world cases. 👇

🔥 What Kind of Affiliate Are You: An Analyst, Tester, or GEO Hunter?

Adsterra is celebrating its birthday — happy birthday! 🎁 13 years in our industry is already serious experience.

And they've decided to celebrate not only with a party, but with something useful too — an interactive quiz What's Your Essence.

A few questions and you'll discover what kind of affiliate you are: an analyst, a tester, a GEO hunter, or a master of steady growth. At the end, you'll receive a personalized Essence Card featuring one of 9 archetypes.

Along the way, you'll get affiliate marketing insights, campaign optimization tips, and a chance to find a promo code for new users.

🎁 And, of course, there are prizes:
• 5 winners will receive 350 Merch Points in the Adsterra Swag Lounge.
• Share your Essence Card on Instagram*, Facebook*, LinkedIn, or X with the hashtag #AdsterraEssence and tag Adsterra for a chance to win $100.

📅 You can participate until August 31, 2026, and the winners will be announced on September 2, 2026. When taking the quiz, use the email address linked to your active Adsterra account.

Take the quiz, discover your affiliate archetype, and celebrate Adsterra's 13th anniversary! 😎

📌 TAKE THE QUIZ HERE 📌

👉 LEARN MORE ABOUT ADSTERRA

* Recognized as an extremist organization and banned in Russia.