Shopping browser extension Phia violated standard affiliate marketing practices by generating fake clicks to claim commissions on sales it did not drive, on July 9. The report stated that Phia received revenue regardless of whether a user clicked on a Phia link.

Phia is a shopping browser extension that helps people find deals across the web. The tool analyzes shopping prices and recommends discount codes for users as they browse online retailers. Affiliate marketing firms typically only earn a commission if a shopper clicks one of their own affiliate links and completes a purchase. According to the report, Phia bypassed that requirement by linking retailers with its affiliate codes in the background, generating fake clicks that allowed the extension to receive revenue on transactions it did not actually drive.

Competitors in the affiliate marketing space suspected that Phia may have played a part in lagging revenues in the months before the startup was found to be siphoning commissions. The report indicated that the practice allowed Phia to take credit for sales it did not drive, departing from the standard model that governs affiliate revenue.

Phia was cofounded by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni. Phoebe Gates is the daughter of tech billionaire Bill Gates. The browser extension gained visibility as a deal-finding tool before the affiliate marketing concerns surfaced.