The Dark Arts Lesson 2 - Cookie Stuffing
Published on August 24, 2016
Published on Wealthy Affiliate — a platform for building real online businesses with modern training and AI.
What is Cookie Stuffing - Sounds Really Tasty!
Cookie stuffing is not loading up your turkey with a bunch of crushed cookies. Rather it's placing cookies for affiliate commission purposes on a computer without the user having clicked on an appropriate link and typically without the user's knowledge.
For example, using a cookie stuffer I could place cookies for Amazon, eBay, Clickbank products, and pretty much anything I wanted on a person's computer when they visited my website. I am not limited to placing 1 cookie at a time. A simple visit of my home page could result in dozens of cookies being stuffed.
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Cookie Stuff - Do NOT Pass Go, Go Straight to Jail
If caught, the affiliate not only faces being banned as an affiliate but also potential jail time. In 2013, the FBI working hand-in-hand with EBay took down eBay's top two earning affiliates. Shawn Hogan, the top affiliate at eBay, had 9 FBI agents enter his home with a warrant. He pleaded guilty to one charge of wire fraud and served 5 months in Federal prison plus fines. He also faced civil action for restoration of all his affiliate income (what percentage of the $28M he earned over the years was recovered by eBay is unknown).
Rich Fulton
BizMaker
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