Web scraping is the automated process of extracting data from websites using software tools or scripts. These tools simulate human browsing behavior to collect information like prices, contact details, or other content. While web scraping has legitimate uses, it's also commonly used by fraudsters to gather data for malicious clicks.
How web scraping works
Web scraping tools work by sending requests to web servers and downloading HTML code. They then parse through this code to find and extract specific pieces of information. The process can happen very quickly, with some scrapers able to collect thousands of data points per minute.
Common uses in click fraud
Fraudsters frequently use web scraping to gather information needed for click fraud schemes. They scrape advertising landing pages to create convincing fake versions. They collect legitimate business details to impersonate real companies. Some even scrape competitor data to target their ads maliciously.
- Creating networks of fake leads
- Gathering URLs to generate bot traffic
- Collecting ad targeting parameters
- Building lists of competitors to attack
How to protect against malicious scraping
Website owners can implement several measures to defend against harmful scraping. Rate limiting restricts how many requests can come from a single IP address. CAPTCHA systems help verify human visitors. Robot.txt files tell legitimate bots which pages they can access.
Detection and monitoring
Unusual patterns in server logs often indicate scraping activity. Watch for signs like rapid-fire requests or traffic from data center IPs. Monitoring tools can alert you to potential scraping attempts targeting your site.
Legal considerations
The legality of web scraping exists in a gray area. While collecting publicly available data may be legal, using it maliciously isn't. Many websites explicitly forbid scraping in their terms of service. Some companies have successfully sued parties who scraped their data without permission.
