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Guide · Security

How to Stop API Scraping Attacks

Scrapers extract your data and abuse your API. Here's how to detect them and stop the attack before it costs you.

Scraping is an infrastructure and spend attack—WAF, bot controls, and throttles are required. Primary control: Infrastructure

Scrapers win on volume, not cleverness

Automated clients pull inventory, pricing, or listings at machine speed—costing you compute and leaking proprietary data. A competitor harvested a public inventory API overnight with UA rotation, residential proxies, and polite delays. Rate limits alone weren't enough; per-IP caps, WAF bot scores, and requiring an API key for bulk list endpoints dropped scrape completeness near zero while storefront traffic kept working.

Layer friction until bulk extraction dies

Cap per IP and per key. Score and challenge bots at the edge. Fingerprint headless/automation where your WAF supports it. Watch listing/export endpoints for repetitive shapes. Put auth in front of anything bulk or proprietary—static marketing JSON can stay lighter.

Steal the economics, not just the packets

APRF Authentication and Infrastructure expect public data planes to be expensive to abuse. Detection guides help you see the farm; this page is about making the farm unprofitable.

Next: Infrastructure

Open the related pillar specification for mandatory checks, artifacts, and pass conditions. Self-attest is optional.

View InfrastructureSelf-attest

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Frequently asked questions

How do I detect API scraping?
Look for high request volume from single IPs, unusual user agents, requests to listing endpoints only, or traffic from datacenter IPs. Set up alerts for anomalous patterns.
What is the best way to stop API scraping?
Combine rate limiting, WAF rules, and authentication. Rate limits slow scrapers; WAF blocks known bad actors; auth protects sensitive data.
Can rate limiting alone stop API scraping?
Rate limiting slows scrapers and can make scraping uneconomical. For stronger protection, add WAF rules, bot detection, and require auth for sensitive endpoints.