Hi:

Interesting to note the hackers aren't just taking gold.

Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, E-Commerce Consultant reports...

A significant slice of the affiliate commissions paid out by the Big Three 
affiliate networks -- BeFree!, LinkShare, and Commission Junction -- are 
being subverted by software plug-ins on consumers' web browsers  that cause 
the affiliate commissions to be channeled to software developers and other 
organizations, rather than to the affiliates whose links direct the 
consumer to the merchant's site. Author and affiliate expert Shawn Collins 
told the New York Times, "I probably saw a drop-off of 30 percent in income 
for the past six months."

How the Diversion Works
While the problem is more than a year old, here's what's causing the uproar 
today. When consumers download music-swapping software, they are asked to 
show support for the software developer splitting the affiliate commission 
between the developer and the shopper. When the consumer comes to a 
merchant site that offers an affiliate commission, a browser plug-in 
(installed at the same time as the music software) indicates this to the 
shopper and directs the shopper to a site to pick up the software 
developer's affiliate cookie which overwrites a previous affiliate cookie. 
When the sale is made, the software developer gets the affiliate 
commission. Some promise the shopper a piece of that commission as a 
rebate, giving the shopper an incentive to cooperate. Wurld Media or 
TopMoxie software bundled with file-swapping programs Morpheus and 
LimeWire, respectively, are said to divert affiliate commissions.

Details at...
http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt7/affil_hijack.htm


_______________________________________________________
George Matyjewicz, Chief Global Strategist
GAP Enterprises, Ltd.   http://www.gapent.com/
Book Author and Doctoral Candidate in Training
Moderator of E-Tailer's Digest http://www.etailersdigest.com/
Automated Press Releases http://www.automatedpr.com/
Board Member AIB  #34  http://www.aib-world.org/


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