Evil Affiliate Programs: How Referral and Affiliate Networks Work to Recruit Droppers and Mules

[Professor]

Abstract: It's naive to think of the shadow world as chaos and disunity. On the contrary, it's remarkably organized and uses the same effective growth models as legitimate businesses. One of the most effective is affiliate programs, but from the inside out. These schemes serve not to promote useful products, but to recruit people into criminal schemes. This article is a calm and detailed examination of how referral networks operate to attract droppers and money mules. We'll examine their logic, mechanisms, methods of influence, and the social environment that makes them so effective. This isn't meant to intimidate, but to provide clear insight.

Introduction: The Economics of Seduction on the Dark Web​

Have you ever been offered the chance to "earn money without leaving home" by simply receiving packages and forwarding them? Or to "pass" money through your account for a fee? Behind this often lies not honest marketing, but a sophisticated criminal recruitment system. Just as Uber and Yandex.Taxi recruited drivers through simple app registration, criminal networks have created their own recruitment "platforms." Their goal is to find people willing to become physical links in cybercrime chains for a modest but quick reward.

1. Who is being sought and why: Roles in the chain​

First, let's determine who is being recruited and what function they perform.

• Dropper (Drop, Drop Shipper): A person who receives goods purchased with stolen cards at their address (or the address of a rented apartment). Their job is to receive the package, ensure its integrity, and then ship it on to the specified address, often abroad. They are the "clean hands" in the logistics of stolen property.
• Money Mule: A person who agrees to provide their bank account, card, or e-wallet details to accept funds. After receiving the funds, they are required to withdraw them (cash them out or buy cryptocurrency) and hand them over to the organizers, keeping a percentage for themselves. They are a "clean" channel for money laundering and withdrawal.

Why do criminals need this? To sever the direct connection between themselves (the carders behind the screen) and the stolen money or goods. Droppers and mules act as "intermediaries," taking on the operational and legal risks.

2. Affiliate Network Architecture: From Core to Periphery​

These networks are built on a pyramidal or star model with clear roles.

• Organizers (Operators/Admins): The core of the network. They create and finance the program, develop rules, maintain records, and ensure payments. They are often located in a different jurisdiction.
• Recruiters/Affiliates: The most important link. These are the active participants who directly search for and recruit new droppers and mules. They are motivated by a percentage of the turnover (referral commission) from all transactions completed by the people they attract. They manage Telegram channels, forums, and post ads.
• Droppers/Mules: The periphery of the network. Those recruited people who perform the physical labor. Their motivation is quick and, as they see it, easy money.

Key principle: Organizers never recruit performers directly. They recruit and motivate recruiters, who do all the "dirty" social work. It's a classic MLM (multi-level marketing) scheme, but with criminal intent.

3. Recruitment Mechanics and Tools​

Recruitment occurs through the same channels as legal recruitment, but with different messages.

• Target audience: Young people (18-25 years old), students, the unemployed, low-income individuals in the regions, migrants. Those experiencing financial difficulties and seeking quick solutions.
• Attraction channels:
  1. Social media (VKontakte, Telegram, TikTok): Creating public pages with names like "Quick Money," "Work from Home," and "Earnings for Students." Posting screenshots of "payments" (often falsified) and reviews.
  2. Messengers: Sending a private message: "I see you're actively looking for a job. We have a vacancy for you."
  3. Job sites and freelance exchanges: Ads for "logistics managers," "remote assistants for foreign companies," and "payment system operators."
• Narrative and Legends (Social Engineering):It's extremely rare for a recruiter to directly say, "Be a thief." Carefully crafted legends are used to remove moral barriers:
  • For dropshippers: "We're an intermediary company helping international customers buy goods in Russia, where their cards don't work. You're our local logistics partner." Or: "These are dropshipping products, just accept them and move on."
  • For mules: "We're an international business circumventing unfair sanctions. We need local accounts for cross-jurisdictional transfers." Or: "You help transfer money to charities/sponsor gamers."
• Onboarding process: Often automated via a Telegram bot. The bot asks questions, requests photos of documents (to "formalize the contract"), provides instructions, and assigns a mentor. Everything looks like a legitimate HR process.

4. Motivation and Retention: Economics and Psychology​

For a network to function, it is necessary not only to hire but also to retain performers, especially recruiters.

• A clear payout system: a percentage of the item's value (for drops) or the transaction amount (for mules). Payouts are made quickly, often in cryptocurrency or to cards to create the illusion of reliability.
• Gamification and statuses: As in legitimate affiliate programs: "Newbie," "Pro," and "Elite." Higher turnover results in a higher commission. Honor boards with the nicknames of top recruiters.
• Support and training: Curators (often experienced recruiters) answer newcomers' questions, help with their first transactions, and give advice on how to avoid questions at the post office or bank.
• Creating the illusion of community: Closed chats where participants communicate, share "successes," and complain about "logistical problems." This creates a sense of belonging and normalizes activity.

5. Network risk management​

The organizers protect themselves by sacrificing the periphery.

• Disposability of performers: Mule accounts and dropper addresses are used for a short time until they are blocked. Then the person is either asked to create new ones or kicked out of the network.
• Core isolation: All communications are conducted through encrypted messengers. Organizers communicate only with top recruiters. Funds are transferred through long exchange chains.
• Exploiting legal ignorance: Many contractors believe they are merely "receiving packages" or "making transfers," which is not a crime. They are convinced, if questioned, that they knew nothing and were simply doing their job.

6. The flip side: Why do people get caught?​

It's not always greed. Often, it's a combination of factors:

• Economic vulnerability: An urgent need for money here and now.
• Digital naivety: Belief in beautiful legends and a lack of understanding of how real business processes work.
• Psychological moment: The proposal comes during a period of life crisis or self-discovery, when critical thinking is reduced.

Conclusion: The Gig Economy's Shadow Reflection​

Affiliate programs for recruiting droppers and mules are a distorted but accurate mirror of the modern gig economy. They employ the same principles: flexibility, remoteness, easy entry, instant payouts, referral bonuses. But instead of creating value, they create risks.

Understanding these mechanics is the key to countering them. Legal action should be aimed not only at the performers (who often become victims themselves), but at disrupting the network's business model: identifying and blocking recruitment channels, tracking cryptocurrency payments to organizers, and raising public awareness about the nature of such "vacancies."

The most effective vaccine is knowledge. Knowledge that behind the offer of "easy money" there is almost always someone's clearly calculated benefit, and your role in this scheme is that of a consumable, a "clean face" who will be the first to face the law. Knowing this is your best defense against the temptation to join an affiliate program that isn't really an affiliate program, but rather an exploitation system in its most digital and ruthless form.