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In simple terms, proxies, VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) and Tor are technologies that hide a user’s real IP address and location by routing their connection through one or more intermediary servers.
They have legitimate privacy uses, but they are also among the most common tools used to commit click fraud.
| Technology | How it works | Fraudulent use |
| VPN (Virtual Private Network) | Encrypts the connection and routes it through a server, often in a different city or country. | Gets around campaign location targeting, making a click from another country look like it comes from the one you target. |
| Proxy server | Acts as a middleman between the user’s device and your website to hide the original IP. | Click farms and bots use large proxy networks to generate thousands of clicks that look like unique visitors from around the world. |
| Tor (The Onion Router) | Bounces traffic through several layers of anonymous servers, making the user’s origin very hard to trace. | Used for highly anonymous activity, including hard-to-trace click fraud. |
Fraudsters rely on these tools to:
| Goal | What they do |
| Bypass location targeting | Make clicks appear to come from the countries you target. |
| Hide their identity | Mask their real IP address to avoid detection. |
| Simulate many users | Switch IP addresses quickly so one bot looks like thousands of different visitors. |
Competitors may also use rotating proxies to hide their identity while clicking your ads to drain your budget.
To protect your ad budget, ClickSambo can block traffic from known commercial VPNs, data center proxies and the Tor network. This is an optional rule you can turn on in your settings; see how to turn on VPN / Proxy / Tor blocking.
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