Before you blame your code, check the IP. Here are the free, real checks that tell you whether your proxy starts trusted or suspect — and how to read them.
Run three free checks on the IP: an ASN / IP-type lookup (datacenter, residential, or mobile?), a blocklist/DNSBL check, and a fraud-score lookup (0-100; lower is better, 75+ is high-risk). If all three are clean and you're still blocked, the problem isn't the IP — it's your fingerprint. Start by checking your current IP with our free IP tool.
Resolve the IP to its network. A hosting ASN (AWS, OVH, DigitalOcean) means datacenter — flagged by default. A carrier ASN means mobile — high trust. Use our What Is My IP tool or any ASN lookup. Why ASN decides →
Check whether the IP appears on public blocklists (Spamhaus and similar) and multi-DNSBL aggregators. Once listed, an IP is presumed guilty no matter how you behave.
Vendors like IPQualityScore, ipinfo and Scamalytics return a 0-100 risk score plus proxy/VPN/hosting flags. This is closest to what an anti-bot system sees. Lower is better; treat 75+ as likely to be challenged.
Start with your live connection, then test a proxy through it:
See your IP, ASN, ISP, and country.
Test a proxy's connectivity & leaks.
See which anti-bot a site runs.
For fraud scores and DNSBL status specifically, pair these with a dedicated vendor (IPQualityScore, ipinfo) — they maintain the reputation databases anti-bot systems consult.
Run three free checks: (1) an ASN/IP-type lookup to see whether the IP is datacenter, residential, or mobile; (2) a DNSBL/blocklist check to see if it appears on public lists; (3) a fraud-score lookup (IPQualityScore, ipinfo, Scamalytics) for a 0-100 risk rating. Together these tell you whether the IP starts trusted or suspect before you ever send a request.
On the common 0-100 scale, lower is better — many vendors treat 75+ as high-risk and likely to be challenged or blocked. Datacenter IPs frequently score high; real mobile and clean residential IPs score low. Scores are vendor-specific, so check more than one and treat them as directional, not absolute.
Reputation is only the network layer. If the IP looks clean but you are still blocked, the issue is usually your TLS/JA4 fingerprint, HTTP/2 settings, or behavior not matching a real browser. Checkers grade the IP; they do not see your client. Pair a clean IP with a real browser fingerprint.
Reading a bad score? The fix is in the 7-step flagged-proxy guide, and the full picture is in the IP reputation guide.
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