Fintech apps are experiencing explosive growth as consumers increasingly embrace digital finance solutions. But with this surge in popularity comes a darker trend — a significant rise in fraud, especially through performance-based marketing channels like affiliate campaigns. While these channels promise high returns through installs and in-app events, they have also become hotbeds for fraudulent activity.

Our analysis of 196 campaigns reveals a concerning picture: install-level fraud stands at a staggering 43%, while event-level fraud — where malicious actors mimic genuine user actions — affects nearly 35% of the data. This means that a large portion of marketing spend is being siphoned off by fraudsters, draining budgets, skewing performance metrics, and ultimately eroding user trust.

In this article, we break down how affiliate fraud operates, why fintech apps are especially vulnerable, and what steps can be taken to protect against these threats.

Why fintech apps love affiliate marketing

In the fast-paced world of fintech, where user acquisition is everything, affiliate marketing has become a go-to growth strategy. It’s performance-based, cost-efficient, and can rapidly scale install through a vast network of publishers and influencers.

In fact, affiliate marketing accounts for nearly 16% of all online orders globally, and fintech brands are increasingly joining the trend. For fintech apps offering personal loans, BNPL services, or instant credit, affiliate partnerships can drive thousands of new installs at a fraction of the cost of paid ads.

But there’s a catch — not all of those installs are real.

Certainly. Here’s a more refined, in-depth version of the blog with a serious, professional tone—suitable for a B2B fintech or marketing audience. Emojis have been removed, and the content has been deepened for credibility and insight:

The hidden cost of growth: how affiliate fraud is undermining fintech marketing

Affiliate marketing has become a go-to strategy for fintech apps looking to scale rapidly. Its performance-based model promises measurable ROI, reach, and efficiency—essential ingredients in a highly competitive industry. However, beneath the surface of this high-growth channel lies a significant and often underestimated risk: affiliate fraud.

Fraudsters are increasingly exploiting vulnerabilities in tracking systems to steal marketing budgets, manipulate attribution, and deliver inflated performance numbers. The result is more than just financial loss. Fintech brands are also exposed to poor user retention, flawed decision-making, and even compliance risks.

The real impact of affiliate fraud on fintech apps

While fraudulent installs or events may appear to boost campaign numbers, their impact is far-reaching and damaging. For fintech marketers, the consequences include:

  • Wasted advertising spend: Marketing budgets are drained by affiliates who generate fake traffic or manipulate attribution.
  • Skewed performance data: Fraud distorts metrics, leading to misinformed strategic decisions.
  • Low-quality user base: Fraudulent installs rarely convert into engaged, long-term users—impacting retention and LTV.
  • Increased compliance exposure: Especially in regulated industries like finance, fraudulent sign-ups or synthetic identities can compromise audit trails and increase regulatory scrutiny.

These challenges collectively hinder sustainable growth and undermine the credibility of performance marketing as a reliable acquisition channel.

Understanding the mechanisms: common types of affiliate fraud in fintech

To effectively address affiliate fraud, it’s crucial to understand how it operates. Below are five of the most common tactics used to exploit performance-based marketing campaigns:

1. Click Spamming

Fraudsters generate large volumes of fake clicks across devices and users, hoping to match an eventually legitimate install and claim attribution. It often results in artificially high click-to-install ratios with no real user engagement.

2. Click Injection

Malicious apps on a user’s device detect when an app download is initiated, then inject a fraudulent click just before installation completes. This allows fraudsters to hijack attribution even though they had no role in the user’s decision to install.

3. Bot-Generated Installs

Automated scripts simulate the behavior of real users, from app installation to in-app events. While the data looks legitimate on the surface, there are no real users behind it—only inflated numbers and wasted spend.

4. Incentivized Fraud

Some affiliates offer users rewards or incentives for installing an app also known as incentivized fraud, leading to installs driven by short-term gain rather than genuine interest. These users rarely convert and often uninstall the app shortly after installation.

5. Event Spoofing

Fraudsters simulate key post-install events, such as registration or KYC completion, using spoofed data to mimic real user actions. This creates the illusion of engagement and drives false payouts for performance milestones.

Why is ad fraud detection by MMPs not enough?

Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs) are widely used in mobile marketing for attribution and performance tracking. However, when it comes to combating sophisticated fraud, their capabilities are inherently limited.

Key limitations include:

  • Surface-level tracking: MMPs rely on metadata and event tags without validating underlying user behavior.
  • Delayed fraud detection: Traditional systems often operate on post-event analysis, identifying fraud days after the install or event has occurred. This delayed detection not only wastes more budget but also limits the marketer’s ability to take swift action.
  • Inability to identify spoofed or manipulated events: Sophisticated fraud mimics legitimate user behavior, often bypassing standard detection rules.
  • Over-attribution to fraudulent sources: Without validation, MMPs may credit conversions to fraudulent affiliates, reinforcing bad traffic patterns.

The consequence is that fintech marketers often end up unknowingly reward fraudulent sources, losing visibility into real performance, and undermining their own growth strategies.

Recognizing the signs: red flags in affiliate campaigns

Spotting affiliate fraud early can prevent budget leakage and help marketers focus on genuine growth. Watch for these key indicators:

  • Unexplained spikes in installs followed by low retention
  • Discrepancies between conversion metrics and backend user data
  • High uninstall rates shortly after onboarding
  • Anomalous traffic from geographies with historically low ROI
  • Low rates of meaningful engagement (e.g., KYC completion, funding) from affiliate-driven users

Each of these signals can point to deeper fraud issues that require urgent investigation.

Building a stronger defense: a validation-first, full-funnel approach

To protect against affiliate fraud, fintech marketers must move beyond attribution and adopt a validation-first strategy—one that emphasizes integrity, transparency, and full-funnel oversight.

A comprehensive fraud prevention framework should include:

Click Integrity

Evaluate the authenticity, frequency, and timing of clicks to ensure that attribution is grounded in genuine user actions.

Full-Funnel Monitoring

Track user behavior not just at the install level, but across all key milestones—from app open to registration, KYC, funding, and long-term engagement.

Real-Time Detection and Intervention

Fraud prevention must be proactive. Real-time analytics and intervention allow marketers to pause campaigns, flag suspicious partners, and prevent payout leaks.

Beyond Budget Protection

Fraud isn’t just a cost issue—it’s a trust issue. By safeguarding against it, it protects user experience, product integrity, and compliance posture.

Final thoughts

Affiliate marketing itself isn’t the problem—unvalidated performance is.

As the fintech space becomes more data-driven and competitive, fraudsters are also becoming more sophisticated. Without the right ad fraud detection tools and strategies, even the most well-intentioned campaigns can fall victim to manipulation.

If your app’s growth depends on affiliate traffic, now is the time to ask:

Are you measuring true performance, or simply paying for an activity that looks like performance?

Learn how mFilterIt can help you validate performance, eliminate fraud, and ensure that every dollar spent delivers real results.