Skip to main content
Fraud signals are automatic checks the platform runs on every referral. When one fires, it contributes to the customer’s fraud score and lights up a corresponding bucket on the Fraud Review queue and the Assessment hover card. Signals are grouped into six buckets. Buckets drive the verdict (“Likely fraud” / “Possible fraud” / etc.) and the headline shown in the Assessment cell.

Buckets

BucketWhat it groupsSeverity
On block / suspect listThe referrer’s IP, cookie, or email is on a manual block / suspect list.High
Looks like the same personIdentity overlap between referrer and referee: same IP, cookie, name, surname, postcode, or similar enough to look the same.Medium
Red-flag emailEmail looks disposable, the referrer and referee emails are unusual or near-synonyms.Medium
Suspicious timingThe referee acted suspiciously fast after the share, or registered just before referring.Medium
Unusual purchase valueThe referred purchase is unusually low or unusually high (5×, 10×, 20× average).Low
Hit referral velocity limitA volume cap fired: too many referrals / referees in 24h, month, or year, or value caps hit.Low
Any signal that doesn’t fit a bucket appears under Other in the hover card.

Signal catalogue

The exact set of signals the platform can fire today. Each signal maps to one bucket:

On block / suspect list

SignalWhat it means
IP address on suspicious listThe referrer’s IP address is on the suspect list.
Cookie or device belongs to suspected gamerThe referrer’s cookie ID is on the suspect list.
User marked as suspected of gamingThe referrer’s email is on the suspect list.

Looks like the same person

SignalWhat it means
Both use same IP addressReferrer and referee used the same IP address.
Both have same cookie or browser identifierReferrer and referee share a cookie.
Both use same nameIdentical first name.
Both use same surnameIdentical surname.
Both use similar or identical postcodesIdentical postcode.
Both have similar full namesNames are similar (Levenshtein / phonetic).
Both have similar first namesFirst names are similar.
Both have similar surnamesSurnames are similar.
Referee could be same person as another refereeReferee record is suspiciously similar to another referee under the same referrer.

Red-flag email

SignalWhat it means
Email from a throwaway serviceEmail domain is on a disposable / temporary email list.
Referrer and referee have similar emailsEmails are close enough to look like the same person.
Referrer and referee use synonym email addressesEmails are functionally synonymous (e.g. foo+1@gmail.com vs foo@gmail.com).
Both email addresses look unusualBoth look unusual (low-trust domains, odd patterns).
One of the email addresses looks unusualAt least one of the two looks unusual.

Suspicious timing

SignalWhat it means
Purchase within 10 minutes of referrer signupReferee acted within ten minutes of the share.
Purchase within 1 hour of referrer signupReferee acted within an hour.
Purchase within 24 hours of referrer signupReferee acted within 24 hours.
Registration within 10 minutes of referrer signupReferrer registered within ten minutes of making the share.
Registration within 1 hour of referrer signupReferrer registered within an hour.

Unusual purchase value

SignalWhat it means
Purchase value below average thresholdPurchase value is unusually low relative to your average.
Purchase value 5x above averagePurchase value is 5× your average.
Purchase value 10x above average10× your average.
Purchase value 20x above average20× your average.

Verdict thresholds

The verdict shown in the Assessment cell is a function of the fraud score and which buckets fired:
VerdictTriggers
Likely fraudAny “On block / suspect list” signal fired, OR fraud score ≥ 67.
Possible fraudA medium-severity bucket fired (Looks like the same person, Red-flag email, Suspicious timing), OR fraud score ≥ 34.
Worth checkingA score exists, but no severe buckets fired, and the score is below 34.
Manual reviewThe referral was held by an approval rule without any fraud-score component.

See also

Last modified on May 15, 2026