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Membership Site Fraud Solution

by sadasiva
10 replies
I run a membership site and I am wondering how to prevent people from signing up for the free trial, then cancelling when the payment is due, only to sign up again later. (by creating a new user account).

I run a site that gives daily information, so it is easy to get people interested in the info, but i am stumped as to how to get around this "member fraud" issue.
#fraud #membership #membership site #site #solution
  • Profile picture of the author Andy Fletcher
    The exact solution will probably depend on what software you are using to run your membership site.

    Personally I don't spend that long worrying about things like this. Some people will always try to game the system but there are sufficient people out there that are happy to pay an honest fee for an honest product that you're much better off focusing on delivering better value to them than worrying about the few that want to get something for nothing.
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    • Profile picture of the author sadasiva
      Thanks Andy,

      Good point.

      I am using the Launch Formula Marketing Script..
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  • Profile picture of the author jimh1626
    You just gave me a good idea for my next feature to my membership site.
    I think I will add a way to block the free subscribers after a certain number of signups.

    Thanks,

    Jim
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    http://e-bookreprintrights.com
    http://instantmembershipsitecreator.com
    http://membershipmanagersupreme.com
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  • Profile picture of the author Sean Donahoe
    Adding something like this to most scripts is fairly simple. Just register the IP address of the subscriber at sign up. Also, at signup, just check to see if the IP already exists in the database and block that signup from proceeding.

    To Your Wealth!

    Sean Donahoe
    The Manic Marketer
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    • Profile picture of the author Chris Lockwood
      Originally Posted by Sean Donahoe View Post

      Adding something like this to most scripts is fairly simple. Just register the IP address of the subscriber at sign up. Also, at signup, just check to see if the IP already exists in the database and block that signup from proceeding.
      Won't that just block some other random person, considering most people do not have a static IP address?


      sadasiva, do you openly tell people they are only allowed to take the free trial once? If not, I don't think it's fair to call this fraud, since you keep offering the trial.

      You may be surprised, of the few people who actually sign up multiple times, how many of them use similar usernames or similar email addresses each time, making it easy to spot them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Johnny Slater
    Originally Posted by sadasiva View Post

    I run a membership site and I am wondering how to prevent people from signing up for the free trial, then cancelling when the payment is due, only to sign up again later. (by creating a new user account).

    I run a site that gives daily information, so it is easy to get people interested in the info, but i am stumped as to how to get around this "member fraud" issue.
    Use a script that allows you to handle timed based content that is triggered by the amount of time someone has been a member. For instance, if they have been a member for 1 month then they only get month 1's content and if they have been a member for 2 months then they get month 1 and month 2 content.

    There are several solutions available that handle timed content, although they don't all handle it the same way. Research the available options and use the solution that does what you are trying to accomplish.
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  • Profile picture of the author Allegro
    how about creating a "trial" part on that board where you give light examples of your work, and the real stuffs keeps locked?
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    Nothing to see here. Move along, citizen.

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  • Profile picture of the author Ted Kopelli
    LFM V1 woudl kick out the email as a duplicate that deterred some but not all.

    You could set a cookie then redirect them to the login page if they attempted to sign up again. Might be more accurate or effective than an IP address.

    I have offered free trials with LFM but the free member area only displayed sample data, or in your case, maybe last month's data.

    The free trial should show the quality of the content or the value of the membership, but not necessarily giving away the farm.

    Ted
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    • Profile picture of the author sadasiva
      Originally Posted by Ted Kopelli View Post


      You could set a cookie then redirect them to the login page if they attempted to sign up again. Might be more accurate or effective than an IP address.

      Ted
      Thanks Ted,

      How do i do that?
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      • Profile picture of the author tsx5691
        you could use plimus they are good at cutting down fraud
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