Scam in the affiliate industry is nothing new. We regularly see stories where an advertiser “cheated” a partner network. Or when a partner network cut media buyers’ payouts. Unfortunately, this time the victim of an advertiser’s unfair behavior was the Ukrainian partner network Triangles.
Here’s how it happened – we break it down in this case study.
Supabets: a licensed scam advertiser
Triangles always takes a careful approach when selecting advertisers offered to us. And at first glance, Supabets seemed like a reliable partner – an official, licensed product in Johannesburg (South Africa).
The advertiser has been operating since 2008. Their target GEO is South Africa. Companies like this are often described as “known in narrow circles.” And indeed, it was difficult to find negative reviews about working with them online. But we have a story to tell…
How it all started
Triangles began working with Supabets in March 2025. At that time, our media buyers sent the first batch of traffic, received a payout and an uncapped status. It seemed like the first stage was complete, everything was fine, and scaling could begin. Which is exactly what our buyers did.
The traffic volumes grew gradually, as it should be when starting cooperation with a new advertiser.
Then came April and May – during this period a significant amount of traffic was delivered, and no one suspected that something could go wrong. What’s more, the advertiser even confirmed the quality of traffic. So, the media buyers continued sending it without concern.
But, as often happens in such stories, problems appeared unexpectedly. First, there were delays, explained by “wallet issues” (force majeure, typical delays). That was the first red flag that deserved attention. But of course, no one wants to believe the worst. When asked directly by our manager, the advertiser’s representative replied that payouts “will be made next week.”
By early June, Triangles representatives once again approached the advertiser, requesting to close April’s obligations and move on to May’s traffic payments. The response was: “It has already been submitted for payment, please wait.”
What happened next?
Then followed multiple postponements. At first, we were told that April’s payout would only be processed on June 15. Later, the payment date was pushed back several more times – you can see this for yourself in the chat screenshots.
Later, another explanation appeared: the process was being delayed due to lack of approval from higher management. When asked to add someone from management into the chat, Supabets’ representatives refused.
The story of postponed deadlines continued. At first, the new deadline was set for July 11, then it was moved several more times. After that, the advertiser’s reps started responding much less frequently. And all their answers basically boiled down to: “We sincerely apologize, but there’s nothing we can do about it.” The full dialogue can be seen here:
The outcome
At the time of writing – the calendar shows August 18. For April and May 2025, the Triangles partner network has not received a single dollar.
The total amount owed is nearly $60,000. Of this, about $30,000 was due for April and $20,000 for May.
Of course, during this whole period, media buyers were demanding payouts from Triangles. Once the partner network realized that the advertiser’s payments were being delayed, it covered all traffic from its own funds. Here we must highlight that some buyers are not focused on win-win partnerships. We highly value our reputation, so all payouts to webmasters were made in full.
Whether this money can be recovered – remains an open question. And while in most cases advertisers at least try to justify such behavior – inventing claims of “low-quality traffic” or accusing partners of dishonesty – in this situation, such arguments weren’t even mentioned. The issue clearly isn’t related to traffic, since it is active, continues generating play, and the metrics are excellent across the board.
Final thoughts
There won’t be a conclusion here, because the situation is still unresolved. We can only advise: always carefully analyze your partners and pay attention to red flags from the very beginning. And of course, we hope this issue will eventually be resolved.
