IP black lists and proxy: how to avoid being blocked by anti-fraud systems

Continuing our series of articles on proxy verification, today we will dive into the topic of IP address blacklisting by anti-fraud systems and discuss why it is important.

Blacklisting an IP address: how does it happen?

An IP address is not the only, but a very significant fingerprint that antifraud systems pay attention to when checking it for blacklisting. Let's take a closer look at this procedure. All IP addresses in the world are distributed by just a few organizations: Ripe, Afrinic, Apnic, Arin, Lacnic. Their work is supervised by a special body - ICANN. Then IP addresses are leased to Internet providers and domain registrars. As you can see, an IP address is always under close control and can be entered into various databases of anti-fraud systems. Including, for example, a whole list of proxy servers with all their IP addresses can be banned if these addresses are associated with suspicious activity.

In the article about Fraud Score I wrote that the "fraud" score of an IP address is not a constant and can vary depending on its participation in suspicious activity. Similarly, being blacklisted is a temporary measure. Approximately every 2 to 3 days, antifraud systems update their blacklists. An IP address that was "dirty" yesterday can be removed from the blacklist today.

There are different approaches to blacklisting: some systems use special "honeypots", others buy information from trusted sources, and others combine these methods.

Some online marketplaces, such as Amazon, eBay, Walmart, use their own anti-fraud systems for internal use. Therefore, for example, an IP address from which a mass registration of accounts on eBay was carried out may be marked in its blacklist, despite the fact that it will remain "clean" in other systems.

Myths about proxy blacklists

Myth #1: You can check IPs for blacklisting for free.

Any information about IP, including its presence in blacklists of antifraud systems, is valuable. Judge for yourself: an online store that has developed an effective antifraud system and collected a large database of fraudulent IP-addresses is unlikely to provide such information for free to other companies and individuals.

Myth #2: there is a universal "secret" list available to all antifraud systems.

Each system keeps its own records and updates them. Although it can buy information from third-party companies.

Myth #3: It is possible to remove an IP address from the blacklist on your own.

IP address status can only be changed by an anti-fraud system if there is a decrease in fraudulent activity over a certain period of time.

How to check an IP address for blacklisting.

To reliably check the IP address of your proxy, it is advisable to turn to specialized services. Free proxy checkers not always give accurate results, and paid services such as Ipqualityscore, Ipdata, Maxmind, and CyberSource can significantly hit your budget (their price reaches an exorbitant $4000 - $10000 per month!).

I won't hesitate to point out that Detect.Expert is the only favorable alternative. Here you can perform the most accurate proxy check online at an affordable price. At the same time, you get access to all the above mentioned databases.

Conclusion

Finding an IP address on a blacklist is just one of the many factors that are taken into account by anti-fraud systems. In order to guarantee the verification of your IP address, you should use quality services such as the proxy checker from Detect.Expert, which provides in-depth and comprehensive analysis of both individual IP addresses and the whole list of your proxies.