The strange jumble of ipfraud and numbers that make up your IP address is how your device connects automatically to the Internet. This connection allows you to visit websites, use email, chat and more. But it also gives fraudsters access to your information. This can include your location, device, and even the operating system of your computer or phone. Fraudsters can use this to commit a wide range of crimes, including ecommerce fraud, account takeovers, phishing scams, data breaches and more.

Bot Lookup: Identifying Automated Traffic

Many of these types of fraudster activities can be detected using a variety of tools, but the most effective ones combine multiple data points to uncover bad actors. These tools can include a fraud score, device and browser information, corroborating data on packet headers, and other information that can help identify patterns.

For example, if someone has used a commercial proxy service to mask their IP address or virtual private network (VPN), it can raise the fraud risk score of the individual. Similarly, the user’s location can impact the fraud score, especially if it is a known cybercrime center. Other factors that can increase a fraud score include the type of device the user is on, such as a smartphone or tablet; the operating system; and whether the user has been flagged for other suspicious activities or placed on a blacklist.

Using a fraud score to identify bad traffic can prevent fraudulent transactions and prevent the merchant losses, reputational damage and customer frustration that can come from these activities. But relying on an IP fraud score alone could cause you to block good users from your website without the right protections in place.