Overview
Ensuring the integrity of your Referral program is crucial. Monitoring for and managing abuse helps maintain fairness and trust. This guide explains how to detect and handle potential abuse within your referral system.
How Growave detects suspicious referral activity
Growave generates reports of suspicious activities in the following scenarios:
The Referring customer places the order using their referral link.
The Referred friend has the same initials as the Referring customer.
The Referred friend uses the same shipping address as the Referring customer.
An unrelated customer who was not referred via a link applies multiple gift cards (more than two) to an order, including a gift card issued to a referred user.
⚠️ Important
Even if fraudulent activity is detected, the Referred friend still receives their reward (e.g., a discount, gift card, or free shipping) after following the referral link and registering with the store. Growave only reports such occurrences to you so you can take corrective action concerning the Referred friends' activity.
Customer account validation is handled entirely by Shopify, and Growave relies on Shopify’s validation results.
What happens when suspicious activity is detected
When suspicious referral activity is detected, Growave blocks the reward for the Referring customer, generates a report in Growave admin, and sends an email notification about the suspicious behavior with a link to the Referral program's Reports section.
Add email addresses to receive fraud detection notifications
By default, an email associated with your Shopify store will receive notifications. However, you can add multiple email addresses to receive updates about attempts to manipulate the Referral program. The notification email contains a standard message and a link to the Growave admin panel, allowing you to take prompt action.
In the Growave admin panel, go to Rewards → Settings tab.
Scroll to the Fraud detection section.
Enter your email under Alter destination.
Click Add and Save changes.
⚠️ Important
To stay informed about potential fraudulent activity, add active and valid email addresses that you check regularly. This ensures you receive fraud alerts promptly and can take necessary action on suspicious orders.
View and manage referral fraud reports
The Fraud reports section lists flagged activities and allows you to review suspicious behavior before deciding whether to fulfill an order or take corrective actions.
View fraud reports
In Growave admin, go to the Rewards → Referrals → Reports section.
Here you can find all instances of suspicious activity, information on users who attempted to abuse the program, and the nature of the abuse. The Reports sections includes:
Name: Name of the referred friend with a link to their profile in Growave admin → Customers section.
Order #: Number of the associated order with a link to Shopify admin.
Reason: Description of why this referral is considered suspicious.
Referred by: Name of the referring customer with a link to their profile in Growave admin → Customers section.
Approve reward or exclude referring customers
From the Reports section, click Select action to choose one of the following:
Approve reward: Manually validate the referral. An email with the reward will be sent to the Referring customer.
Exclude from Referral program: Cancel the reward and disqualify the Referring customer from further participation.
Add to Referral program: After excluding the customer, you have the option to reinstate them in the Referral program based on your investigation results.
If you need further assistance or have any questions, please contact us at [email protected] or use the chat icon in the bottom-right corner of your Growave admin panel. We're here to help! 🤗