Introduction
BrandLift employs a diverse array of tools and verification processes for each referral link usage. These security measures can reduce fraudulent activities by as much as 95%. A summary of our fraud prevention mechanisms is provided below.
Fraud prevention tools
Our suite of tools is integrated into the referral system and requires no additional setup on your part.
IP address check to ensure only one referral per household
We monitor IP addresses to prevent sign-ups from friends using referral links on the same Wi-Fi network or IP address as the advocate (such as within a shared household).
New: Add an IP address threshold from the referral fraud settings dashboard.
No self-referrals
If an advocate tries to refer themselves using the same email, the system won’t allow it.
No using email variations with “+”
The system prevents advocates from self-referral using their own email address. For example, if the advocate's email is “[email protected]", trying “[email protected]” won’t work for the friend.
Referral link cookies
We utilize cookie tracking to thwart attempts at self-referral through different email addresses on the same browser.
Referral Share Links
BrandLift uses Share Links technology to create a custom referral experience unique to each merchant. This experience is customized and contains protection tools built in.
New friends and emails only
Referrals are exclusively for new customers. The system will block any attempt to refer an email associated with a previous purchase from your brand.
Minimum Cart Requirements and conditions for rewards
As the merchant, you can configure specific reward amounts to reach for the referral to apply. These will automatically apply to your emails if you use the dynamic email variable called {{reward_tos}}.
As an illustration, for an advocate to earn a reward, their referred friend should make a purchase of $100 or more from the new arrivals collection.
Rewards will only be issued after order fulfillment
Advocates' rewards are only distributed after the friend's order is marked as fulfilled in Shopify. Ensure you're updating your orders as fulfilled to confirm the legitimacy of referred friend purchases.
Ability to manually exclude bad actors (shadow ban)
Silently ban or exclude any customer from the referral program with the click of a button, right from their customer profile.
Unique discount codes
Rewards are specifically assigned and restricted to the designated friend or advocate.
Translating your error messaging
The default translation is listed below. If you want to change it to something else you can go to Branding > Translation to change your error messaging.
| Message Type | Error Message (external) | Meaning (internal) |
| Referrals general invalid title | We're Sorry | This title goes with the 'Referrals general invalid' text |
| Referrals general invalid | Sorry, looks like this referral is invalid | The referral used does not meet the necessary criteria or does not exist |
| Referrals similar ip invalid | We are unable to process referrals within the same IP address | Referrals cannot be processed from the same IP address, to prevent fraud |
| Referrals code invalid | This referral code is invalid | The entered referral code is not recognized or is incorrect |
| Referrals already visited | Already visited this page | The user has already accessed this page or referral link, so it cannot be used again |
| Referrals program disabled | This referral program is disabled | The referral program is currently not active |
| Referrals email already claimed | This email has already been claimed | The email address entered has already been used in the referral program |
| Referrals account already claimed | You already have an account. You can invite your friends to win rewards! | The user already has an account and is encouraged to invite friends to win rewards |
Common questions
Can I manually exclude a customer from the referrals program?
Yes! You can click here to learn how to exclude a customer.
Can an advocate try to refer a friend who is an existing customer and who has placed past orders but never used a referral discount code?
Upon submission of a friend's email address, we conduct a comprehensive series of fraud checks before awarding the referral reward. One such check verifies if the provided email has an existing purchase history. If a previous order is associated with the customer, the referral will be flagged as blocked. Learn more about statuses here.