Referral fraud, like all forms of fraud, is illegal in most jurisdictions. The act of participating in a company’s advertisement referral program, then forcing either illegal or ill-gotten traffic through the paid gateways is an illegal violation of the terms of the affiliate contract that insists on legitimate traffic that potentially leads to a conversion. As most referral fraudsters operate through shell companies and are digitally distributed, enforcement and punishment is rare and difficult, but cases do sometimes result in fines, recompensation, or in some cases even imprisonment.