Headless Browsers Are the Secret Weapon of Scammers

[Man]

In the age of the web, automation, and the rise of digital fraud, it is important to know what headless browsers are and how they differ from regular ones. Each is used for its own purposes and has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Headless browsers are primarily used by testers to speed up and facilitate testing of various programs and services. And, unfortunately, they have also become a favorite tool for scammers to organize bot attacks.

In this article, we'll explain why they're popular and how they're used by cybercriminals, including for ad fraud.

Contents
1. Browsers without interface VS regular ones
2. Key differences between a Headless browser and a regular one
3. Why do testers use them?
4. Why do scammers use headless browsers?
4.1. Imitation of real traffic and click fraud
4.2 Large-scale attacks
4.3. Generating Fake Applications
4.4. Creating fake accounts
4.5. Complex fraudulent schemes
4.6. Use of artificial intelligence
4.7. Web scraping
5. How to protect ads and your website from Headless browsers

Browsers without interface VS regular ones​

- No interface

A headless browser does not have a graphical interface. This means that it works without displaying such visual elements as windows, tabs, settings panel, buttons. All work is done in the background.

Operators work in such a browser through scripts or command lines, making it an ideal tool for automated tasks.

— With interface

Most users are accustomed to a regular browser equipped with a graphical interface. Through it, they can visually interact with websites, buttons, scroll pages, and view multimedia content.

Key differences between a Headless browser and a regular one​

Headless browsers use the same rendering engine as regular browsers, but they don't display website pages on the screen. Instead, they interact with them programmatically and can perform actions such as clicking links, filling out forms, and scrolling through pages. Headless browsers can also execute JavaScript, making them a powerful testing tool.

Availability of user interface

• A headless browser does not have it; all interaction occurs through commands.
• The usual one has a full-fledged interface with interactive elements.

Purposes of use

• The first type of browsers is mainly used to perform automated and routine tasks such as scraping, testing and data extraction.
• The second is used for standard internet search, allowing users to interact with websites in real time.

Performance

• A headless browser is much faster because it doesn't need to render visual elements.
• Normal - consumes more resources because it needs to render visual content.

Control

• To control the first type of browsers, you need to use commands and code.
• The second is direct interaction of the user with the interface.

Why do testers use them?​

Productivity and efficiency

Standalone browsers operate without a graphical user interface, meaning they consume fewer resources and can perform tasks faster. This makes them useful for software, service, and application developers to automate testing and process large amounts of data.

For example, they can be used to test websites and applications, JavaScript libraries, simulate interactions and interact with JavaScript, and run one or more automated tests in the background.

Automation capabilities

Headless browsers are suitable for automating repetitive and routine tasks such as scraping, form filling, and UI testing. Tools such as Puppeteer and Selenium can be used for this purpose, allowing developers to create scenarios for interaction with pages, making it easier to model user actions.

Integration with continuous engagement and deployment channels

They are often integrated into continuous engagement and deployment channels and allow for more efficient automated testing in server environments, as they do not require a display.

Cross-browser compatibility and performance test

They support testing on different browser versions and platforms, ensuring that applications work correctly in different environments. In addition, such browsers facilitate performance testing, thanks to the ability to simulate the work of several users with response time measurements.

Why Scammers Use Headless Browsers​

Not all browsers without a graphical interface are used for good. Fraudsters also use them for click-through advertising, creating fake profiles, large-scale attacks, and other malicious activities.

Imitation of real traffic and click fraud​

Bots that run through headless browsers can imitate the behavior of a real user. For example, such metrics include mouse movements and site navigation. Using this capability, attackers can generate fake clicks on ads and present invalid traffic as targeted.

Previously, cybercriminals relied on custom scripts that directly interacted with HTTP request libraries, manually processing each request. This often involved spoofing headers, cookies, and even the client-side device fingerprint to evade detection mechanisms.

The advent of headless browsers has greatly simplified this process, allowing for more scalable and effective attacks with much less skill on the part of the attacker.

Large-scale attacks​

Attackers can deploy headless browsers on a large scale and use cloud technologies to do so. This approach allows them to create vast networks that can mimic the behavior of real users. Plugins such as Puppeteer-extra-plugin-stealth are used to disguise headless browsers, making bots harder to detect.

Generating fake applications​

Lead generation using headless browsers turns marketing campaigns upside down. Not only does it waste budget and time, but it also reduces efficiency.

For example, PhantomJS, Lighthouse, and Cyclone browsers are capable of this. Attackers use them to click on advertisements, install applications, and fill out lead forms.

Creating fake accounts​

New accounts, such as those on VK, can be created using headless browsers. That is why some social networks have already banned automated programs and scripts, including Puppeteer Stealth, from registering new accounts on the platforms.

Complex fraudulent schemes​

Fraudsters use headless browsers in complex fraud schemes, such as creating fake accounts and conducting DDoS attacks. By automating these processes, attackers can effectively carry out large-scale operations with minimal human intervention.

Use of artificial intelligence​

Attackers are also increasingly using large language models (LLM) to easily conduct browser-based attacks. Large language models, which underlie advanced AI tools, can generate highly realistic and complex code snippets, automate attack sequences, and even adapt them in real time to evade detection mechanisms.

Attackers can "feed" them various rules and algorithms of cybersecurity systems to create attack scenarios that will allow them to bypass blocking. For example, how the bot should behave when visiting a website page, what to do, at what interval, etc.

This capability not only speeds up the development of headless attacks, but also increases their effectiveness, making it more difficult for traditional detection systems to detect and eliminate such threats. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning in this case turns the entire detection process into a game of “Cat and Mouse,” where one adapts to the detection methods of the other and avoids being caught.

Web scraping​

The rise of headless browsers has contributed to the growth of the scraping industry for collecting data from websites. The development of artificial intelligence and machine learning has also added fuel to the fire. In 2024, experts estimate the value of this industry at $1.5-2 billion, which is due to the ever-growing need to search and collect data in real time.

How to Protect Ads and Websites from Headless Browsers​

Click fraud is a serious problem for advertisers.

Fraudulent attacks via headless browsers result in increased operational costs and lost revenue due to:

• competitive price reduction - scraping allows competitors to conduct commercial espionage and change their prices to gain a competitive advantage;
• customer poaching;
• higher server or infrastructure costs;
• duplicate content - attackers can steal articles, directories and entire sites to create clones;
• data theft;
• decrease in website performance;
• deterioration of user experience;
• unlawful expenditure of advertising budget;
• lowering the site's ranking.

Detecting fraud from headless browsers is difficult, but quite possible.

To avoid such consequences and protect businesses from fraudulent attacks, modern cybersecurity and traffic verification systems, such as Botfaqtor, check the digital footprint of each visit. This helps identify the user based on the unique characteristics of their device, which include the operating system, the type and version of the browser used, language settings, and more. Based on this, a unique identifier is created for each user and their behavior is tracked for fraud.

Therefore, investing in reliable bot detection and blocking tools is a strategic decision to optimize processes and protect your business.