Sorry to drop in like this three days before Christmas, but I need to share something with you that you may or may not already have heard about.

• If you haven’t heard about it, then I sure hope that you keep reading…

• If you have heard of them and are using them, then stop immediately…

• If you are offering anything to anyone as an affiliate, then you need to know exactly what they’ve done…

Technology is both great and terrible, like Olivander’s description of Voldemort in the first Harry Potter book:

It’s that bad, and it involves cookies.

What the actual F…

Here’s the scam…

Imagine that you are looking for a last-minute Christmas gift.

You’ve gone all over town looking for this one present that you know is going to light up your loved one’s face on Christmas Day, but you’ve been busting your ass all year to get that bonus that you need from work to make it happen.

You search and search, store after store, until you’ve all but given up.

There’s actually solid customer service in the final spot you’re praying has what you’re seeking, and this person pulls all the strings from the front desk to the back inventory section.

Finally, they put what you’ve been looking for into your hands.

Christmas is saved.

The only thing that they ask is that you let the person at the checkout know that they helped you so that they can get a little boost, a commission if you will.

Yeah, you’d be an ass not to do this one little favor.

So you do it.

You happily go to check out, provide the name of the person who helped you and prepare to pay.

BUT…

then the checkout person has to double check something and leaves the counter for a moment before you can complete your purchase.

While they’re gone, another supposed associate jumps in and does you one better.

You are beside yourself. You’re a customer for life.

“Unfortunately there aren’t any for this item, but we’ll keep an eye out for you the next time you visit!”

Then, they slip away, leaving you with the original checkout person to complete the payment.

Everyone’s happy.

You got what you’ve been searching for from a great guy who will get the commission they so richly deserve.

…right?

Well no.

Maybe you know where this is going, but here it is:

Turns out, that person who jumped in actually changed the name to themselves to get the commission while they were “checking for discounts”, effectively stealing it and screwing the other person entirely.

This is exactly what Honey has been doing on the internet.

Internet cookies are a powerful thing.

• They keep track of what you do

• They keep track of who you visit

• They keep track of what you purchase and from whom.

That last bit is what Honey changes to claim any affiliate commissions.

It’s the exact situation that I just described to you, only they did it AT SCALE.

…and they’ve been doing it for a long, long time.

Even worse is that some of the BIGGEST influencers promoted them, basically increasing the probability that they, too, would become victims for when they promoted future affiliate links.

Imagine promoting a company that supposedly helped your followers get discounts when in reality they were screwing you out of future affiliate commissions by swapping their cookies for yours at the last moment.

Yeah, scummy move.

Sure, it doesn’t affect the consumer experience, but it’s outright theft from the affiliate end.

To be honest, I don’t think my little spiel does it justice.

Check out the YouTuber who uncovered this steaming pile of villainry below:

What I’ve presented to you is just the tip of the iceberg. The entire structure of the company is to steal as much as they could get away with…

and they’re not the only ones!

Cool story, bro, but why do I care??

One more little FU for the consumers who use it:

Honey takes control of the entire discount process and takes advantage of the customer’s ignorance to maximize the best deal FOR THEMSELVES.

Cherry on top.

I’m out, but beware of this type of crap.

For those of you who use affiliates as one of your main sources of income, this fraud can really damage your well-deserved effort to promote the products that you stand by.

Happy Holidays!