Bot and Fraud Traffic Monitoring: How to Protect Your Website from Scanners and DDoS Attacks

In today’s digital world, protecting a website from bot-driven attacks is no longer optional—it is a necessity. While some bots serve useful purposes, such as indexing content for search engines or providing monitoring insights, a large portion of bot traffic is malicious. These bots steal data, overload servers, spam website forms, and attempt unauthorized logins, leading to significant security vulnerabilities and performance issues.

Website owners often struggle to differentiate between good bots, such as Googlebot, and bad bots, which include scrapers, spam bots, and DDoS attack agents. Without proper monitoring and protection, a business may experience severe consequences, from SEO penalties and website downtime to loss of revenue and damaged user trust.

This article explores how fraudulent bot traffic affects website performance, how to identify unusual traffic patterns, and the best practices for preventing bot-related attacks.

The presence of bots on the internet is nothing new, but their increasing sophistication makes them harder to detect and block. More than 40% of all internet traffic comes from automated bots, with a significant percentage being malicious. Attackers use bots for various purposes, from content scraping and credential stuffing to launching large-scale DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attacks.

For businesses, bot traffic can become an expensive burden. Excessive requests from bots slow down websites, overload servers, and manipulate analytics, making it difficult to track real user behavior. In eCommerce, fraudulent bot traffic can cause cart abandonment issues, distort conversion rates, and negatively impact ad spending.

Website security professionals need to differentiate between legitimate and harmful bot traffic to ensure smooth operations. Good bots, such as search engine crawlers, uptime monitoring tools, and AI chatbots, are essential for the online ecosystem. However, bad bots can cause irreversible damage if left unchecked.

Types of malicious bots that threaten websites

Different bots serve different purposes, but the most harmful ones often operate in the shadows, going unnoticed until significant damage is done. The most common types of malicious bot traffic include:

• Scrapers – Bots that steal website content, pricing data, and other valuable information. Competitors use these bots to replicate content or undercut pricing strategies.
• Spam Bots – Automated scripts that flood forms, comment sections, and reviews with spam links, degrading user experience and credibility.
• Credential Stuffing Bots – Bots that attempt to gain unauthorized access by using stolen usernames and passwords from previous data breaches.
• DDoS Bots – These bots generate a massive number of requests, overloading the server and rendering the website unavailable for real users.

Websites that fail to monitor and mitigate these threats often face unexpected traffic spikes, slow page loads, and frequent server crashes.

One of the most significant consequences of malicious bot activity is the impact on website performance. Unlike organic traffic, which engages with the website naturally, bots send an excessive number of automated requests, consuming server resources and disrupting normal operations.

When bots overload a server, page load times increase, affecting user experience and Core Web Vitals. A slow website is not only frustrating for users but also faces penalties from Google's ranking algorithm, leading to lower search engine visibility.

Fraudulent bot traffic also distorts analytics. Many businesses notice unusual traffic spikes but fail to see an increase in conversions or engagement. High bounce rates, sudden traffic bursts from unknown locations, and repetitive actions from specific IP addresses often indicate bot interference.

Performance degradation caused by bots is not limited to eCommerce websites. Lead generation websites, SaaS platforms, and content publishers also suffer from fake traffic, which skews their data, makes A/B testing ineffective, and reduces the accuracy of targeted marketing campaigns.

For a deeper look at how manual and automated security monitoring compare, check out this guide on MySiteBoost.

Identifying bot traffic early is crucial to preventing serious performance and security issues. Websites that experience repeated slowdowns, unexpected downtime, or a surge in fake form submissions may already be under attack.

Key Indicators of Bot Activity

• Unusual spikes in traffic with no logical source or corresponding engagement.
• High bounce rates where visitors land on a page and exit almost instantly.
• Excessive requests from a specific IP address or country.
• Increased server resource consumption, causing slow performance.

For a comprehensive guide on preventing DDoS attacks, check out this article on eSecurity Planet.

Using Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) for Bot Prevention

A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is one of the most effective defenses against bot-driven attacks. It filters and blocks suspicious incoming traffic before it reaches the server, preventing scrapers, DDoS bots, and brute-force login attempts.

Modern WAFs analyze user behavior, IP reputation, and traffic patterns to automatically block unwanted bots. Platforms like Cloudflare offer robust bot mitigation tools that detect automated threats in real-time.

Implementing CAPTCHA for Spam Protection

Another effective anti-bot measure is CAPTCHA verification, which distinguishes real users from bots by requiring human-like interaction.

Websites that rely on PrestaShop and OpenCart can automate CAPTCHA implementation using dedicated tools like Google reCAPTCHA Manager for PrestaShop and Google reCAPTCHA Manager for OpenCart. These solutions help eCommerce businesses protect login pages, checkout processes, and registration forms from spam attacks, reducing bot-driven fraud.

Beyond security measures, ongoing performance monitoring plays a key role in identifying bot-driven slowdowns and protecting website uptime.

MySiteBoost provides real-time bot detection, uptime tracking, and automated alerts, helping businesses mitigate fraudulent traffic before it affects operations.

Malicious bot traffic is one of the biggest risks to modern websites. Whether it’s content scraping, spam attacks, brute-force login attempts, or large-scale DDoS incidents, the impact of malicious bots is undeniable.

To protect a website from these threats, businesses should implement Web Application Firewalls, enable CAPTCHA verification, and invest in real-time performance monitoring.

By proactively securing a website against bots, businesses can enhance performance, protect revenue, and ensure a safe browsing experience for real users.

If you’re looking for a reliable monitoring solution, check out MySiteBoost to start protecting your site today.