Library · Traffic · Guide
Click fraud vs cookie stuffing — claim map
GuideClick fraud vs cookie stuffing — claim mapBack to article
Fake clicks burn spend. Cookie stuffing steals attribution. Filter the claim. Distinct from the stuffing signals checklist.
| Claim | Reality | Look for | Do not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Click fraud and cookie stuffing are the same | No. One wastes clicks. The other steals last-click credit | Which abuse pattern matches this partner or source | Pause every channel for one score |
| CTR collapse means cookie stuffing | No. CTR collapse with dead sessions is click-fraud shaped | Bot / incentivized click patterns on the paid source | Claw back an affiliate for search bot clicks |
| Last-click with no landing session is click fraud | No. That mismatch is classic cookie stuffing | Affiliate credit vs your session logs | Pause Meta because an affiliate stuffed cookies |
| One fraud vendor catches both automatically | No. Different data: click streams vs attribution vs sessions | Your click logs and your session/affiliate match | Outsource the fork without reading your own logs |
| This map is the stuffing signals checklist | No. The checklist ticks partner tells. This map is the fork | N/A — open stuffing signals when you suspect stuffing | Skip session match because you named the fork |
| Probation fixes click fraud on paid social | No. Affiliate probation caps new CPA partners. Paid click fraud needs source cuts | N/A — wrong tool for bot clicks on ads | Put a search publisher on affiliate probation |
Filter the claim. Click fraud wastes clicks. Cookie stuffing steals last-click credit. Do not pause the wrong channel.
Pairing procedure: Separate click fraud from cookie stuffing. Topic: Traffic.
Work with us — We run this job on your accounts. Services