April 18, 2013 Update - FBI Says Cookie Stuffing Is Wire Fraud | Warrior Forum - The #1 Digital Marketing Forum & Marketplace

Snowclone

11 years ago

Up to 20 years in prison for cookie stuffing. Wow. Thanks for sharing, good read.

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OnlineStoreHelp

11 years ago

Sounds about right. Cookie stuffing does fit the definition of wire fraud:

From Wikipedia: "In the United States, mail and wire fraud is any fraudulent scheme to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services via mail or wire communication."

I know at the time of KFC there was a second group that got caught too but I never did find out what happened to them.

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Snowclone

11 years ago

Originally Posted by OnlineStoreHelp

Sounds about right. Cookie stuffing does fit the definition of wire fraud:

From Wikipedia: "In the United States, mail and wire fraud is any fraudulent scheme to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services via mail or wire communication."

I know at the time of KFC there was a second group that got caught too but I never did find out what happened to them.

Yeah I mean it definitely fits the bill. I wonder how many people still cookie stuff and would be potentially liable for this kind of punishment? Do we know how they got caught? Was it just because of the sheer amount of revenue they were generating?

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OnlineStoreHelp

11 years ago

Originally Posted by Snowclone

Yeah I mean it definitely fits the bill. I wonder how many people still cookie stuff and would be potentially liable for this kind of punishment? Do we know how they got caught? Was it just because of the sheer amount of revenue they were generating?

It was really interested. Ben Edelmen has been consulting with eBay for years and had been warning for 6 to 12 months that cookie stuffing had been happening and both CJ and eBay marketing department ignored it. It wasn't just the size of the payouts it was how quickly affiliate referrals started happening. The commissions skyrocketed from minimal to a huge amount in a very short period of time which always makes the analytic guys start scratching their heads.

The guy was really smart though because if the IP address came from San Jose (eBay headquarters) or Santa Barbara (CJ headquarters), the apps wouldn't drop a cookie.

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Snowclone

11 years ago

Originally Posted by OnlineStoreHelp

It was really interested. Ben Edelmen has been consulting with eBay for years and had been warning for 6 to 12 months that cookie stuffing had been happening and both CJ and eBay marketing department ignored it. It wasn't just the size of the payouts it was how quickly affiliate referrals started happening. The commissions skyrocketed from minimal to a huge amount in a very short period of time which always makes the analytic guys start scratching their heads.

The guy was really smart though because if the IP address came from San Jose (eBay headquarters) or Santa Barbara (CJ headquarters), the apps wouldn't drop a cookie.

Thanks for that, that's fascinating. I'm always intrigued by these type of cases.

Thanks

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psresearch

11 years ago

Originally Posted by OnlineStoreHelp

Sounds about right. Cookie stuffing does fit the definition of wire fraud:

From Wikipedia: "In the United States, mail and wire fraud is any fraudulent scheme to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services via mail or wire communication."

I know at the time of KFC there was a second group that got caught too but I never did find out what happened to them.

Here's that one: Again plead guilty to wire fraud:

AffiliateFairPlay.com: Shawn Hogan Pleads Guilty In Criminal Cookie Stuffing Case

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OnlineStoreHelp 11 years ago

Originally Posted by Paul Schlegel

Here's that one: Again plead guilty to wire fraud:

AffiliateFairPlay.com: Shawn Hogan Pleads Guilty In Criminal Cookie Stuffing Case

Thats right DPS and Flying Circus... its all coming back to me now!
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Snowclone 11 years ago

Originally Posted by Paul Schlegel

Here's that one: Again plead guilty to wire fraud:

AffiliateFairPlay.com: Shawn Hogan Pleads Guilty In Criminal Cookie Stuffing Case

Thanks for sharing that update, Thought this quote should be shared from the article:

And this is how the legal cookie crumbles. Cookie stuffing is a felony. Activity related to cookie stuffing can be a felony.
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Andyhenry

11 years ago

This can't be a surprise - it's obvious that it's unethical as soon as you understand what it is.

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nothing to see here.

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psresearch 11 years ago

Originally Posted by Andyhenry

This can't be a surprise - it's obvious that it's unethical as soon as you understand what it is.

That it's unethical isn't a surprise. I think people were surprised that it's considered wire fraud. Maybe there are previous cases on this, but I don't remember any.
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SunilTanna

11 years ago

Cookie stuffing is not illegal in itself.

What is illegal is obtaining money or property by deception. In this case, cookie stuffing was the means used to obtain money from eBay. By deception.

I'm surprised anybody is surprised by this.

Fwiw, for a more familiar example, think of click fraud. Clicking on hyperlinks, not illegal in itself. But Clicking on hyperlinks to earn pay-per-click revenues that you are not entitled to, is illegal. The clue's in the name - click fraud.

Tldr:
1. don't dishonestly obtain money
2. using technology? See 1

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psresearch

11 years ago

Originally Posted by SunilTanna

Cookie stuffing is not illegal in itself.

What is illegal is obtaining money or property by deception. In this case, cookie stuffing was the means used to obtain money from eBay. By deception.

Good point.