Most websites, search engines, and online platforms monitor your online activities, collectively forming your unique digital profile. This data holds significant value; it can be used to display targeted ads or even sold to third parties for various purposes.
Reputable entities like online retailers and banks utilize this information to flag transactions that may originate from unauthorized accounts or browsers associated with suspicious or fraudulent activity. In this article, we delve into a tool called the antidetect browser and provide a comparison of private browsers specifically designed to circumvent browser fingerprinting.
What is an Antidetect Browser?
An antidetect browser, or anti-detection browser, is a cool tool built on popular web browser frameworks. Its main job is to hide your real digital identity, making it trickier for websites to track what you’re up to.
These browsers let you tweak different browser fingerprint attributes so you can mimic devices, operating systems, plugins, time zones, locations, and more. Plus, you can create custom digital profiles, each with its own unique fingerprint that’s hard to link together, giving you multiple online identities.
Both individuals and organizations use antidetect browsers. Digital marketing teams, social media agencies, journalists, and cybersecurity pros rely on these tools to manage multiple social media accounts or e-commerce profiles, share browser profiles safely with teammates, access blocked websites, and more.
While antidetect apps are marketed as harmless tools that boost privacy and even protect against cybercriminals, they can also be misused by fraudsters. Bad actors take advantage of antidetect browsers to clone device profiles and dodge detection from regular device fingerprinting methods. Sometimes, criminals even create their own antidetect browsers to sell on the dark web.
How Fraudsters Exploit Antidetect Browsers
Antidetect browsers aren’t just for anonymous browsing; they can also be used to “hijack” real digital identities. Threat actors take this feature and combine it with stolen credentials or banking info to access compromised social media, email, or bank accounts while flying under the radar of anti-fraud tools.
These anti-detection apps allow cybercriminals to spoof various web browser and hardware setups (like WebGL, Canvas, resolution, fonts, geolocation, IPs, and browsing habits) in real-time. This means they can create multiple profiles that mimic real user behavior.
Some antidetect browsers can even automate tasks or simulate human-like browsing actions, like typing. Another important feature is collecting cookies from websites, which anti-fraud solutions see as signs of a legitimate device. Together, these features open the door to large-scale fraud.
Here’s how fraudsters typically use anti-detect browsers in different industries:
E-commerce
- Account Takeover (ATO): Criminals use stolen credentials to break into accounts, change shipping info, and make unauthorized purchases.
- Carding: They test stolen card details with small purchases to stay under the radar.
- Creating Fake Accounts: Fraudsters set up tons of accounts to cash in on promotional offers, leave fake reviews, or resell limited-edition items.
Gambling
- Bonus Abuse: Cybercriminals take advantage of sign-up offers across multiple accounts to make more money than regular users.
- Affiliate Fraud: They pump up referral traffic or conversions using a bunch of fake profiles that look real.
Financial Institutions
- Account Creation: Fraudsters open fake accounts to launder money or receive funds from compromised accounts.
- Fake Loan Applications: They apply for loans with made-up identities created through antidetect browsers, then disappear with the cash.
How Group-IB Fraud Protection Combats the Misuse of Antidetect Browsers
Our analysts dive into antidetect browsers to uncover their patterns and techniques, helping us spot illegitimate traffic and protect our clients. Our Anomaly Detection feature looks at browser fingerprints for any inconsistencies, keeping an eye out for unusual device-browser combos and data discrepancies. Plus, Group-IB’s Web Snippet helps identify noise caused by antidetect browsers, boosting our ability to guard against manipulation.
