What is FraudScore and how to check it

The Fraud Scoring System is an anti-fraud tool used in the IT industry to evaluate the likelihood of fraudulent or deceptive behavior in various online activities, including financial transactions, e-commerce, and online payments. This system is essential in areas where fraud protection and customer reliability are crucial.

The term “FraudScore” is also commonly used in relation to IP addresses. Many online services claim to assess the “FraudScore” of an IP address, purporting to check for potential fraudulent activities associated with it. This is particularly relevant for users interested in the credibility of an IP address, such as after purchasing a proxy. However, these online checkers are not related to the Fraud Scoring System and generally do not provide accurate or relevant information.

In the following sections, we will explore the concept of an IP address's Fraud Score, discuss its reliability, and guide you on how to evaluate the trustworthiness of your own or a purchased IP address.

Video: What is Fraud Score and its impact

The meaning and role of FraudScore on the Internet

The significance of fraudster identification systems is paramount in ensuring online security. However, the value of assessing the fraud risk of IP addresses is debatable and tends to be minimal. This skepticism is due to several factors:

• The lack of transparency in how FraudScore checkers analyze and collect IP data, raising concerns about compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA;
• Inconsistencies in fraud scores across different checkers;
• The possibility of false negatives (safe assessment for suspicious IPs) and false positives (high fraud scores for “clean” IPs).

Given these shortcomings, the reliability of such checkers in detecting IP address fraud is questionable. Therefore, relying on public resources for evaluating your own or a purchased IP address is not recommended.

A more effective approach involves assessing other indicators of an IP address, such as its presence on blacklists/spam lists and its anonymity level. Various IP checkers offer comprehensive analysis, providing information about:

• Blacklist status, indicating if the IP is linked to spam or malware;
• Geographic location and details about the registering entity;
• Connection type, including whether the IP is static or dynamic, and the nature of the network connection (e.g., broadband, mobile).

Ultimately, the purpose of these IP checkers is to enhance online security and safeguard users against potential threats.

How to check FraudScore IP addresses

Exploring operational methods for IP checking, we focus on specialized online services. As previously discussed, relying solely on Fraud Score is not reliable. Instead, let's consider other important indicators obtained during IP checks.

To begin, here's how to gather general information about your IP:

1. Choose an IP checking service, like IPQualityScore, that can verify if the IP is listed on blacklists or deemed unreliable.

   

2. Navigate to the “IP Reputation Check” section on the service’s website.

   

3. Enter the IP address you wish to check. The result will display various details about the IP, such as its location, provider, and whether it's listed on spam lists. Interestingly, while these checks do reveal a Fraud Score and an overall risk level, they often lack specifics on how these figures are calculated or what constitutes a high risk of fraud.

   

For a more comprehensive evaluation, it’s advisable to cross-reference IPs using separate blacklist checkers. This approach ensures a more thorough assessment of the IP's reliability.

Checking an IP address for presence in blacklists

Let's take the DNS Checker service as an example, which analyzes data from over 50 databases. Here's how to use it:

1. Visit the service's main page, navigate to the “Tools” section, and under “IP-Tools”, select “IP Blacklist Checker”.

   

2. Enter the IP address you wish to check. Alternatively, you can click the “Your Own IP” button to have the service automatically detect and check your IP.

   

3. Click the “Check in Blacklists” button.

   

4. The service will quickly display a list of blacklist databases, indicating whether your IP is listed in each.

   

It's important to note that an IP’s presence in one database doesn’t necessarily imply unreliability. However, if the IP appears on multiple blacklists, it's generally advised not to use it.

IP address anonymity check

Checking your IP for anonymity is also crucial, as it reveals how other sites perceive your online identity and whether sensitive user information is visible. Since an IP address can contain data that's not only useful for web service analytics but also vulnerable to attackers, it's important to understand what your IP reveals.

Here's how to conduct an anonymity check using the 2ip checker:

1. Visit the website and navigate to the “Tests” section.

   

2. From the available options, select the “Anonymity check” tool.

   

3. The initial page will display basic information about your IP and location as seen by other resources. For a more in-depth analysis, click the “Check” button.

   

4. The service will provide a list of parameters used to analyze your IP, along with a percentage indicating the likelihood of using a VPN or proxy. A lower percentage suggests a higher level of anonymity.

   

This check helps assess how “clean” and safe your IP is for use. However, keep in mind that results from online IP checkers may vary and might not be entirely comprehensive, depending on the service used.