36 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
36 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

BEWARE of hackers and scammers at Warriorplus

by dabuzz
30 replies
Hey guys..

10 days ago - I got 3 sales for $99.

All 3 of them were referred by the same affiliate at Warriorplus.

After a few hours - all 3 of them filed an "Unauthorized Claim" at Paypal.

Turns out - their paypal account was hacked.

And the hacker used their paypal acc to buy my course.

Once the account owners got to know about this - they filed a claim and got their money back.

So the payments were reversed and everything got back to normal.

But it was far from normal.

Paypal thought I was upto something evil. And limited my account.

They asked me to give them proof of shipping. Stuff I didn't have.

I provided all the info I could.

But my account is still limited.

And I don't have access to ANY of my funds.

...........

I talked to Mike - Founder and CEO of Warriorplus - 10 days ago.

He realized it was a scammer and banned that affiliate.

But that's not enough.

Now to be fair - they display this message on the affiliate page:

"Please DO NOT approve affiliates to promote your products that you do not know and/or trust."

But that's not an efficient method to keep scammers out. Or even a realistic scenario.

I don't know 99% of the affiliates that are applying!

None of us do. I can't turn away 99% of the people - just because I don't know them.

But that message does absolve Warriroplus of any responsibility.

Just like how banks ask you to count the number of cheque leaves in the cheque book when you recieve it.

Nobody's going to do that! But the bank is off the hook then.

........

My point is..

Just know that some affiliate at Warriorplus can scam you the same way.

And paypal can and probably will limit your account.

And that's hard to reverse.
#beware #hackers #scammers #warriorplus
  • Profile picture of the author renhoek
    ouch. I had that happen but it was the scammers hacked our somehow used my paypal to do the purchasing (in august).
    On the other hand I have applied to several affiliate programs and have been refused by most of them. (oh well) I wonder if there is a better application method that could be implemented. Possibly phone verification, it would eliminate most scammers.

    just a thought
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9570288].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    All of the platforms have this problem and all of them tell you to never approve affiliates that you don't know and trust. Warrior Plus and JVZoo also have delayed commissions which does mostly prevent this from happening. Crooked affiliates will not bother to promote on Delayed Commissions because they know they'll be found out before they get their commissions.

    This has been discussed many times here. Some use stolen credit cards instead of hacked Paypal accounts.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9570301].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author MikeMiller
      As @sbucciarel said, whenever possible use the delayed payment option. I had affiliate request asking me to grant instant payment as they only work with people who grant instant payments, but this alone looks suspicious to me.

      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      All of the platforms have this problem and all of them tell you to never approve affiliates that you don't know and trust. Warrior Plus and JVZoo also have delayed commissions which does mostly prevent this from happening. Crooked affiliates will not bother to promote on Delayed Commissions because they know they'll be found out before they get their commissions.

      This has been discussed many times here. Some use stolen credit cards instead of hacked Paypal accounts.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9570373].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Joan Altz
        Originally Posted by MikeMiller View Post

        As @sbucciarel said, whenever possible use the delayed payment option. I had affiliate request asking me to grant instant payment as they only work with people who grant instant payments, but this alone looks suspicious to me.
        Some affiliates will ask that because the fact is that many sellers are also negligent about paying affiliates they put on delayed payment.

        Our team also only promotes for instant payment now, and there are hundreds of sellers who grant instant payment when they see an affiliate has enough sales under their belt, so it is no problem for us and many trustworthy affiliates to skip sellers who only do delayed payment.

        It's all a risk, but for both the sellers and the affiliates, not just the sellers.
        Signature
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572412].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Joan Altz View Post

          Some affiliates will ask that because the fact is that many sellers are also negligent about paying affiliates they put on delayed payment.

          Our team also only promotes for instant payment now, and there are hundreds of sellers who grant instant payment when they see an affiliate has enough sales under their belt, so it is no problem for us and many trustworthy affiliates to skip sellers who only do delayed payment.

          It's all a risk, but for both the sellers and the affiliates, not just the sellers.
          Your name is recognizable enough on WF, that most would probably put you on Instant Commissions immediately if they identified the name that applied with you. I would. Now, JoeBlow who just blew in ... not so much.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572431].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Anonymous Affiliate
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      All of the platforms tell you to never approve affiliates that you don't know and trust.
      Not true. Clickbank and DealGuardian conduct the necessary security checks on their end for you, so you dont need to approve manually every individual affiliate.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9571179].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author dabuzz
        Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate View Post

        Not true. Clickbank and DealGuardian conduct the necessary security checks on their end for you, so you don't need to approve manually every individual affiliate.
        Exactly.

        I don't think Clickbank even does a security check. Affiliates can signup for free and I think they're good to go.

        Why are we still approving affiliates? It's not 1980 anymore.

        I still think the biggest issue is using Paypal directly or with Warriorplus.

        Paypal just can't fathom random incoming payments and automated outgoing commissions and refunds and claims - as part of a normal business account. They get suspicious far too easily.

        And then they act like some pirate and hold the funds hostage.

        That's the torpedo we need to lookout for.
        Signature

        Seduction.. selfies.. and Jennifer Lawrence?

        or

        How I made $40,873 with mobile apps

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9571551].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
        Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate View Post

        Not true. Clickbank and DealGuardian conduct the necessary security checks on their end for you, so you dont need to approve manually every individual affiliate.
        She is referring to the "instant pay" networks, obviously.
        Signature
        Get Off The Warrior Forum Now & Don't Come Back If You Want To Succeed!
        All The Real Marketers Are Gone. There's Nothing Left But Weak, Sniveling Wanna-Bees!
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9571784].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Anonymous Affiliate View Post

        Not true. Clickbank and DealGuardian conduct the necessary security checks on their end for you, so you dont need to approve manually every individual affiliate.
        Maybe so, but the question was about Warrior Plus. Most of the people running WSOs are using JVZoo and Warrior Plus and some Warrior Payments. I personally have never even heard of DealGuardian and Clickbank's approval process is a big pain in the ass.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572249].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author RichardWing
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      All of the platforms have this problem and all of them tell you to never approve affiliates that you don't know and trust. Warrior Plus and JVZoo also have delayed commissions which does mostly prevent this from happening. Crooked affiliates will not bother to promote on Delayed Commissions because they know they'll be found out before they get their commissions.

      This has been discussed many times here. Some use stolen credit cards instead of hacked Paypal accounts.
      I agree with what sbucciarel said. This is not news.

      There is a reason the platforms offer a delayed commission option.

      You should seriously consider that option to vet an affiliate you do not know. After they make some sales then you can switch them to instant.

      But even seasoned affiliates are no guarantee as I explain below.

      Anyone can steal a credit card or paypal account access and use anyones affiliate link to go to your site and make a purchase because they visited a blog or email where the affiliate was promoting your product.

      The danger is everywhere whether you vet the affiliate or not.

      Bottomline there is no 100% protection against people that steal a paypal account or a credit card.

      Also there are risks on the affiliate side against merchants too.

      We (Paula and I) always ask for instant commissions when applying for affiliate status with new vendors, and do not feel that it is a strange request as a previous poster mentioned,

      We have a proven track record and since we have lots of choices as to who we plan to promote that day we obviously take into account if we will get paid right away or not.

      Even on the delayed commissions as an affiliate you don't always get paid in a timely manner.

      We had an issue where a merchant set us to delayed in JVzoo and it took 3 months to get paid the commissions we earned.

      We had to go back and forth several times with support at JV zoo to get it resolved.

      JVZoo indicated that they could not pay me what I earned or force the commissions out of the vendors paypal account to make good on my promotional efforts that the vendor offered in the affiliate contract with me.

      I spoke the other day with Mike and he indicated that the warriorplus system holds out the funds that affiliates earn in escrow from the merchant when a buyer makes their purchase and when the affiliate is set to delayed commissions.

      As you see there are risks on both sides and across all platforms. All you can do is try and do your due diligence.

      I am sorry to hear that your account was limited. Maybe your post will remind others that they should be cautious when running an affiliate program.

      Take care and I wish you luck in getting your account back in order.

      Richard Wing
      623-505-6302
      skype - richardwing
      Signature

      Recent Release | FB Chat & Menu Widget Generator http://supersellertools.com/wpfbchatwidget/

      http://www.SuperSellerSupport.com | My Facebook Profile http://facebook.com/azrichardwing

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9571824].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author renick
    Thanks for posting this and for letting us all know. Much appreciated!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9570319].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author FreedomBlogger
    WOW!!!... thanks for the heads up!!

    Shame on these damn scammers!! smh!
    Signature
    At the beginning, I thought making money online with a blog was super super hard. Not anymore. Learn the art of making money online blogging - step by step - HERE.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9570381].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Chris Del
    Thanks for tha heads up!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9571687].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author vishwa
    don't offer an instant payments to affiliates. Hold your payments for few days to check the authentication of the order.
    Signature
    Techbizmasters.com- Blogging, Technology, and Digital Marketing
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572119].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BIG Mike
    Banned
    [DELETED]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572302].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by BIG Mike View Post

      Yes, you can and you absolutely should, but if you're unwilling to use all due diligence in vetting potential affiliates, then you're only setting yourself up to be scammed.

      W+ gives you the platform and tools to manage your affiliates, but they aren't and shouldn't be responsible for YOUR choices (or your greed, in this case, in not wanting to take the time to run your business properly).

      You're also working under the mistaken assumption that every one of that 99% are going to make you money - they won't, not by a long shot.

      It's not the quantity of affiliates that matters, but rather the quality of each one you approve.
      Originally Posted by dabuzz View Post
      I can't turn away 99% of the people - just because I don't know them.
      Big Mike is absolutely right. You aren't turning away 99% affiliates. You're turning away a certain percentage of scammers and another percentage of unproven affiliate wannabees. The only ones I approve are experienced, successful affiliates. I don't approve new affiliates because I don't know them and they don't have a track record.

      The fact is, and people like Big Mike and all of the big product vendors will tell you that no more than 1% of the affiliates ever perform for them. Jeff Walker put that number of around .5% of affiliates ever did anything significant for him in his book.

      Approve them all at your own risk. It cost me around $1,200 to learn that lesson.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572348].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author dabuzz
      Originally Posted by BIG Mike View Post


      Originally Posted by dabuzz


      I can't turn away 99% of the people - just because I don't know them.
      Yes, you can and you absolutely should, but if you're unwilling to use all due diligence in vetting potential affiliates, then you're only setting yourself up to be scammed.
      Just because you *can*..
      doesn't mean you *should*.

      Vetting potential affiliates one by one individually is by itself an incredibly outdated and laughable concept.

      It's a system stuck from a decade ago. Needs an overhaul desperately.

      W+ gives you the platform and tools to manage your affiliates, but they aren't and shouldn't be responsible for YOUR choices (or your greed, in this case, in not wanting to take the time to run your business properly).
      Well according to Sir Gecko - greed is good

      Plus spending more time doing something doesn't mean it's the most efficient way to do it.

      Also - the purpose of this post wasn't to shoot down Warriorplus. If you like it - keep using it.

      But the fact that other people like me - should be aware of these black holes of their ancient system.

      Plus the fact that Paypal is NOT cool with it.


      You're also working under the mistaken assumption that every one of that 99% are going to make you money - they won't, not by a long shot.
      Your assumption about my assumption couldn't be more wrong.

      I know 90% of my sales are going to come from 10% of my affiliates.

      But which 10%?

      You don't know. And I don't know.

      Perhaps you're lucky enough to have free time on your hands - but most people don't.

      We can't vet every affiliate. That's ridiculous.

      There needs to be a system like Clickbank where affiliates don't even have to apply for approval and vendors don't have to worry about them.

      Which is why I've left Warriorplus and moved everything to Clickbank.

      Now I'm tension free about paypal situations like that..

      Plus I can focus on marketing to affiliates - rather than vetting hundreds of them individually like some hamster stuck in a rut.

      I'm already feeling good
      Signature

      Seduction.. selfies.. and Jennifer Lawrence?

      or

      How I made $40,873 with mobile apps

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572352].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
        Banned
        Originally Posted by dabuzz View Post

        Just because you *can*..
        doesn't mean you *should*.

        Vetting potential affiliates one by one individually is by itself an incredibly outdated and laughable concept.
        ...

        Plus I can focus on marketing to affiliates - rather than vetting hundreds of them individually like some hamster stuck in a rut.

        I'm already feeling good
        Let's see ... you have a Paypal limited account, you've moved to Clickbank and you don't actually have any affiliates yet most likely and you disregard everything said by a marketer who has made millions and has developed his own affiliate platform.

        Glad you feel good. Spare us the sob story when you no longer feel so good, please.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572404].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Mohamedtags
    Thanks for that it was really helpful
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572356].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      There needs to be a system like Clickbank where affiliates don't even have to apply for approval and vendors don't have to worry about them.
      There is such a system...it's called...wait for it.... Clickbank.
      Signature
      Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
      ***
      Life has no remote...
      Get up and change it yourself.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572381].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author dabuzz
        Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

        There is such a system...it's called...wait for it.... Clickbank.
        Thank you Captain obvious

        Already migrated over.
        Signature

        Seduction.. selfies.. and Jennifer Lawrence?

        or

        How I made $40,873 with mobile apps

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572387].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author TotalWebsiteControl
    I always thought when you logged in from another IP address or device that you had to go through some security test on paypal to actually login?
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572391].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author bob ross
    Every now and then I'll have a fraudulent transaction come up and I'll find that it came from an affiliate I approved years ago in W+ before I knew better. I think some of them hold onto these accounts for a long time before actually going in and doing damage.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572559].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ddev
    Personally, i never had a single problem with W+ and it's to remark that if there's a problem, it's caused by a pseudo "affiliate", not w+.

    That said, it's impossible to know 100's of affiliates but you can look at their past activity by moving the mouse over the affiliate nick when they send a request (approval window).

    This will help you to see their number of sales, % conversion and % refunds (enough to make a decision).

    And if you have doubts, it's good to use delayed commissions. Personally i don't even use this option if the affiliate is new (has no sales at all).
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572615].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sfrewerd
    This has certainly given me a few things to consider before working with W+ for the first time as a vendor. Thanks for the info.
    Signature

    Sherry Frewerd
    Family Niche Marketing Network
    http://familynichemarketingnetwork.com

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9572674].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mrdeedreid
    Had a similar situation happen to me in the last few days. Glad I found your post before any more damage was done. I'm reporting another affiliate after I write this. Thanks again.

    For vendors who continue to sell on WarriorPlus, do you have any suggestions for approving trustworthy affiliates?
    Signature
    Kickstart Income teaches a complete beginner the fundamentals of internet marketing and creating an income online.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10994319].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author discrat
      Originally Posted by mrdeedreid View Post

      Had a similar situation happen to me in the last few days. Glad I found your post before any more damage was done. I'm reporting another affiliate after I write this. Thanks again.

      For vendors who continue to sell on WarriorPlus, do you have any suggestions for approving trustworthy affiliates?
      Take a look at the number of sales they have and they have individual Ratings for everyone that applies to be your affiliate
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10994322].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author risgirly
        Originally Posted by discrat View Post

        Take a look at the number of sales they have and they have individual Ratings for everyone that applies to be your affiliate
        Past performance is a good indication.

        This is a really good tip to use.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10994794].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author agmccall
      Originally Posted by mrdeedreid View Post

      Had a similar situation happen to me in the last few days. Glad I found your post before any more damage was done. I'm reporting another affiliate after I write this. Thanks again.

      For vendors who continue to sell on WarriorPlus, do you have any suggestions for approving trustworthy affiliates?

      post is 3 years old.

      al
      Signature

      "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10994350].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Brent Stangel
        Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

        post is 3 years old.

        al
        It must have seemed important back then, I was actually subscribed to this thread.
        Signature
        Get Off The Warrior Forum Now & Don't Come Back If You Want To Succeed!
        All The Real Marketers Are Gone. There's Nothing Left But Weak, Sniveling Wanna-Bees!
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10994813].message }}

Trending Topics