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The most common affiliate abuse is self-referral — someone referring themselves to farm a signup reward. For credit (non-cash) programmes, TrackRev runs automatic self-referral checks and blocks grants that look self-dealt.

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Self-referral checks (credit programmes)

When a referral qualifies, TrackRev compares the referee against the inviter. If any of these match, the credit grant is written as revoked with a recorded reason:
A plain IP match with no device information is deliberately not blocked — it’s too noisy on shared office and NAT networks. Blocks require a stronger signal than IP alone.
Blocked grants appear on the Credits page under “Blocked (self-referral)” with a human-readable reason such as “Same browser as inviter” or “Same IP as inviter, different device.” An admin can override a hard block if it’s a legitimate case (e.g. genuine housemates).

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Controls for cash programmes

Cash commissions don’t run the credit self-referral engine, but you have direct control via commission statuses and approval:
  • Use Review each application approval mode so you vet who joins before they can earn.
  • Mark a suspicious commission void or fraud to exclude it from payouts.
  • Refunds automatically reverse commissions, so a partner can’t profit from a refunded sale.
For programmes that pay a signup or lead reward (not just a sale), keep approval manual and watch the Customers list for patterns — a cluster of signups from one source that never convert is worth a closer look.