How our anti-cheat framework works

Our goal

Clout Clock only works if the leaderboard is fair. We actively monitor for bots, automated traffic, and coordinated manipulation so that real businesses get genuine, honest visibility. Our enforcement is designed to be fair, transparent, and appealable.

What we monitor

• Bots & automated traffic — scripts, click farms, and non-human activity
• Rate-limit abuse — excessive requests from a single source
• Referral rings — coordinated groups that refer each other to farm clout
• Self-referral — referring your own listing to earn clout
• Cross-listing abuse — one source tapping many listings to inflate metrics
• Velocity abuse — unusually rapid activity that suggests automation

How we enforce

We use a tiered enforcement ladder:

Automated vs human review

Clear-cut cases (confirmed bots, rate-limit abuse, provable referral rings) are handled automatically — we remove artificial clout and notify you. Ambiguous cases (borderline activity, high-value listings, appeals with evidence) are reviewed by a human before any action. We never automatically suspend or terminate an account — those always require human review.

How you're notified

If we have your email, we'll notify you by email. If we don't, you'll see a notification the next time you visit the site. Every notification explains what we detected, what action we took, and how to appeal.

Your right to appeal

You have 30 days to appeal any enforcement decision. We respond to appeals within 10 business days. To appeal, use the link in your notification or email support@cloutclock.com. Every decision is logged and can be reconsidered.

See our full Rules for the complete fair-play policy.