In the fast-paced world of affiliate marketing, keeping your affiliate tracking platform secure is essential. With iGaming fraud up across the board, platforms are under constant threat and affiliate managers, along with affiliates themselves, need to be on high alert.
After all, affiliates depend on these platforms to track their earnings and manage their campaigns, so the last thing you want is to risk account takeovers or hacking. Let's look at why security is so important and share some simple tips to keep your platform, and your affiliates, protected!
Why Security Matters
Let’s start with what’s at risk. Affiliate tracking platforms are the control centers of your marketing operations, holding valuable data like earnings reports and personal information. If these platforms get hacked, it could mean lost revenue, damaged trust, and a ton of stress. That’s why keeping your platform secure isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a must. Online gambling revenue is consistently growing, with an increasingly complex fraud landscape that includes threats like deepfake identity fraud, account takeovers, and money laundering, according to the 2024 Sumsub iGaming Fraud Report 2024.
According to Andrew Novoselsky, CPO at Sumsub, “A combined approach is the best bet against advanced iGaming fraud. Every step of the user lifecycle must be protected—from initial sign-ups to the withdrawal stage. That involves KYC, behavioral intelligence, device fingerprinting, database checks, and more.”
Additionally, gambling is the most susceptible industry to digital fraud in the U.S, making robust security crucial to protect user data and maintain integrity. The most common type of fraud seen in the gaming industry was promotion abuse, as stated by SBC Americas, where people pretend to be someone else to take advantage of sign-up offers
Simple Security Tips You Can Use
Here is a simple guide to help protect your affiliate platform from hackers:
Choosing a strong password that you’ll remember can be a bit of a pain but it’s important. To create a strong password, choose a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Try not to use a sequence of numbers or letters, which can be easily guessed.
We all know it can be hard to remember passwords, especially if you have a lot of them. It can be tempting to write your passwords on a sticky note and leave it near your laptop for easy login. However, that makes your account vulnerable to unauthorized logins, if someone gets their hands on the note. It’s better to use apps like KeePass to store your passwords online.
A little knowledge goes a long way. Educate your affiliates on common threats like phishing scams and account takeovers. Helping them recognize suspicious emails or messages can help to avoid account issues. It’s important to maintain clear and open communication between partners and affiliates. Share details on how your official emails will be communicated and emphasize what you would never request from them, such as sensitive login credentials. With the rise in fake Skype accounts remind everyone to verify the sender before opening any links or downloading files.
Not everyone needs full access to the platform. On the admin side, set up tiered access levels to control permissions and limit risk. This way, if there’s ever an account compromise, the impact is more contained and manageable.
SSL; secure sockets layer, is standard technology for securing an internet connection by encrypting data sent between a website and a browser, or between two servers. It prevents hackers from seeing or stealing any information transferred, including personal data and reports.
Keeping your platform and related software up to date is crucial. Regular updates patch vulnerabilities and bring in the latest security features. Income Access prioritizes regular updates to keep our software secure and reliable.
Wrapping It Up
As affiliate marketing continues to grow, securing affiliate tracking platforms is more important than ever. By following these simple tips, you can significantly reduce the risk of account takeovers and hacking incidents. Protecting your platform isn’t just about securing data, but it’s also about maintaining trust with your affiliates and ensuring that your marketing efforts are worthwhile. So, take these steps to secure your business and keep everything running smoothly!
For more tips on keeping accounts secure, our teammates at Skrill have a valuable resource on Fraud Awareness, which offers insights into fraud prevention within the payments industry.
