Exposing the Honey Influencer Scam

If you haven't heard of the Honey scam yet, well, you probably haven't been on YouTube in the past week or two. The browser extension maker and parent company PayPal are in a sticky situation for allegedly robbing creators of affiliate income, colluding with certain companies to control discounts, and misleading consumers about whether or not they're actually getting the best deal.

Honey Extension Allows PayPal to ‘Poach’ Influencers’ Sponsorship Sales Commissions, Class Action Lawsuit Claims

https://www.classaction.org/news/honey-extension-allows-paypal-to-poach-influencers-sponsorship-sales-commissions-class-action-lawsuit-claims

The lawsuit looks to represent any United States-based affiliate marketers whose commissions from e-commerce merchants within the country were diverted to PayPal as a result of the Honey browser extension.

The suit alleges that PayPal’s practice of “swooping in at checkout” is unlawful and has deprived affiliate marketers of rightfully earned sales commissions.

https://www.classaction.org/news/honey-extension-allows-paypal-to-poach-influencers-sponsorship-sales-commissions-class-action-lawsuit-claims#embedded-document

The Honey Scam And Affiliate Marketing, Explained

https://rootnote.co/the-honey-scam-and-affiliate-marketing-explained/

PayPal’s Coupon Extension Sparks Outrage, Influencers Suspect Millions Stolen in Shocking Alleged Scam

https://www.escapistmagazine.com/paypals-coupon-extension-sparks-outrage-influencers-suspect-millions-stolen-in-shocking-alleged-scam/

So What Does It Mean For Creators And Customers?

Honey and PayPal released a fairly typical rebuttal to the class action lawsuit claims, telling The Verge,
"We dispute the allegations in the lawsuits, and will defend against them vigorously. Honey follows industry rules and practices, including last-click attribution."
Since MegaLag's video, the browser extension has reportedly lost at least 3 million users, or 15 percent of its total user base.

That is largely thanks to many of the influencers who were previously paid to push Honey reaching out to their audience and telling them to uninstall the extension. With the lawsuit and increased awareness, this will likely only increase.

And it's safe to say that any creators who are using affiliate links as a part of their monetization strategy should tell their followers to uninstall the Honey browser and opt for one of the many possible alternatives.

We'll be sure to follow along and post any potential updates to the lawsuit, including if you're a content creator who may qualify to participate.

What Is Last Click Attribution and How to Use It

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/last-click-attribution

Honey x PayPal | Honey

https://www.joinhoney.com/paypal

PayPal debuts a new rewards program that combines Honey’s discounts with other ways to earn

https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/17/paypal-debuts-a-new-rewards-program-that-combines-honeys-discounts-with-other-ways-to-earn/

PayPal is buying deal-finding service Honey for $4 billion, its biggest acquisition ever

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/20/paypal-is-buying-honey-for-4-billion-in-its-biggest-acquisition-ever.html

original link MegaLag

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc4yL3YTwWk