I think any affiliate who has been some time in the business has been fucked by a sponsor one way or another, when it happened to me I lost $250, removed all of the sponsor links and moved on.
What is staggering here is the amount of money that the OP claims to have lost, yes skimming happens all the time in this business, nothing new here, but there are still some honest sponsors left that don't do that, when you have been time in the business you get to know who you can trust based on your own experience and acquaintances.
That is why I promote
Playboy (in between many others), I fully trust them, their brand and their tracking system.
Avoiding skimming is just like knowing what sponsor will sell better, only experience can tell you that for sure.