Why IPQualityScore Flags Clean Proxy IPs

If you've ever checked your proxy IP on IPQualityScore and seen a fraud score above 0, you might be confused. After all, you bought "clean" residential IPs. So what's going on?

How Fraud Detection Actually Works

IPQualityScore and similar services (like Scamalytics, MaxMind, and IP2Location) use multiple signals to determine if an IP is suspicious:

1. Historical data - Has this IP been associated with spam, fraud, or abuse in the past?
2. Behavioral patterns - Are requests from this IP exhibiting bot-like behavior?
3. Network characteristics - Is the IP part of a known proxy/VPN range?
4. Geographic signals - Does the IP location match the claimed user location?

The key insight is that fraud scores are probabilistic, not absolute. A score of 75 doesn't mean "this IP is 75% fraudulent" - it means "based on our data, there's elevated risk associated with this IP."

Why Clean IPs Get Flagged

There are several reasons why an IP that was clean when you received it might show elevated scores:

1. Historical Usage

Residential IPs are recycled. The IP you're using today may have been assigned to hundreds of different users over the years. If even one of those users engaged in suspicious activity, that history can affect the score.

2. Shared Infrastructure

Many residential IPs come from ISPs that use CGNAT (Carrier-Grade NAT), meaning multiple households share the same public IP. One bad actor can taint the IP for everyone.

3. Detection System Updates

Fraud detection services constantly update their algorithms. An IP that was clean last week might show a different score today simply because the detection criteria changed.

4. Geographic Inconsistencies

If you're using a US residential IP but your browser timezone is set to Europe, some systems will flag this as suspicious.

What This Actually Means for Your Use Case

Here's the reality: a fraud score is just one of many signals platforms use. YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms don't simply check IPQualityScore and ban accounts based on that alone.

They look at:

• Account age and history
• Content quality and engagement
• Behavioral patterns over time
• Multiple signals combined

A residential IP with a slightly elevated fraud score can still work perfectly fine if all your other signals are clean.

What You Can Do

1. Don't panic over scores - A score under 50 is generally fine for most use cases
2. Focus on behavior - Consistent, human-like activity matters more than a perfect fraud score
3. Request replacements - At TubeProxies, we guarantee 0 fraud score at delivery and will replace flagged IPs
4. Use the right IP for the job - Different platforms have different sensitivity levels

The Bottom Line

Fraud scores are useful indicators but shouldn't be treated as gospel. Understanding how these systems work helps you make better decisions about your proxy usage without unnecessary worry.

If you're consistently seeing high fraud scores on your TubeProxies IPs, contact our support team - we'll investigate and provide replacements if needed.