Cookie stuffing

Cookie stuffing is a deceptive tactic in affiliate marketing. In affiliate marketing, individuals (affiliates) are compensated for enticing consumers to buy products through specific URLs that set cookies on users' browsers to track which affiliate referred the user to the site. Affiliates engaging in cookie stuffing use invasive techniques, like pop-up ads, to falsely claiming credit for sales they did not facilitate.

Many affiliate marketing programs prohibit cookie stuffing, considering it fraudulent. It causes retail companies to lose revenue, potentially leading to higher prices for consumers and lost sales for legitimate affiliates. In 2014, Shawn Hogan, a prominent figure in eBay's affiliate program was convicted of wire fraud for engaging in cookie stuffing and received a five-month long federal prison sentence along with a $25,000 fine.^[1] However, despite occasional high-profile cases, cookie stuffing remains rare and most users do not encounter it frequently.