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How to Block VPN and Data Center IP Traffic in Your WooCommerce Shop

Running a WooCommerce shop means you’re not just managing products and sales—you’re also dealing with bots, fake signups, fraudulent orders, and spam. A major cause of these unwanted activities? Traffic from VPNs and cloud-hosted servers.

In this blog, we’ll explain why these IP sources are problematic and how to block them—either manually with Cloudflare or automatically with the OOPSpam plugin for WordPress.

Why You Should Block VPN and Cloud IPs on WooCommerce

Most spam and fake user activity on WooCommerce sites doesn’t come from typical shoppers. Instead, it comes from:

• VPNs, which hide a visitor’s real location and identity
• Proxies, allowing users to switch IPs frequently
• Cloud data centers, which power automated bots that can create fake accounts, submit fraudulent transactions, or overload your site with junk requests

This traffic can create all kinds of issues for store owners, such as:

• Inflated analytics and fake leads
• Cart spam and account creation bots
• Fraudulent or suspicious orders from anonymized IPs
• Damage to your account reputation with payment processors and email delivery services

Blocking VPNs

Blocking VPN IPs prevents access from users trying to hide behind tools like Tor or paid VPN services. It’s an effective way to shut out bad actors—but use caution, as some legitimate buyers (e.g., privacy-conscious shoppers or global customers) might use VPNs too.

Blocking Cloud Providers

This is a safer and more universally recommended step. Bots often use services like AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, or Hetzner to run large-scale automated attacks. Blocking IPs from these cloud platforms helps you eliminate a big chunk of malicious traffic without affecting real customers.

And unlike traditional spam filters that rely on reputation history, blocking these sources at the IP level gives you preventive protection, even from IPs not yet blacklisted.

Need to check if an IP belongs to a VPN or data center? Use tools like IP Reputation Check to find out.

Method 1: Manually Block VPN and Cloud IPs with Cloudflare Firewall

If your WooCommerce store is protected by Cloudflare, you can create custom firewall rules to block traffic from certain networks.

How It Works

Each major hosting or VPN provider is assigned a unique ASN (Autonomous System Number). By identifying the ASN linked to spam traffic, you can block all traffic from that provider.

Example: To block spam from DigitalOcean servers, you can block ASN AS14061 through Cloudflare’s firewall rules.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Blocks malicious networks at the edge
• Works across your entire website

Cons:

• Requires manual tracking of ASNs and updates
• Can accidentally block real users on VPNs or business networks
• Technical knowledge and time are needed for setup

This method is best for advanced users or those managing high-volume stores with active threat monitoring.

Method 2: Automatically Block VPN and Cloud IPs in WooCommerce Using the OOPSpam Plugin

If you prefer an easier, low-maintenance solution, the OOPSpam WordPress plugin (that’s us 👋) offers one-click spam protection for WooCommerce.

We’ve added two important settings under IP Filtering:

• Block VPNs
• Block Cloud Providers

These toggles allow you to automatically block the most common spam and fraud sources without needing to touch IP lists or research ASNs.

Why OOPSpam Works So Well for WooCommerce

Unlike basic spam plugins that just flag suspicious behavior, OOPSpam actively blocks harmful traffic using a continuously updated database that includes:

• IPs from over 2,000+ data centers worldwide
• Ranges used by popular VPN and proxy providers
• Real-time reputation scoring and threat detection

This makes it perfect for protecting your WooCommerce checkout forms, account registration pages, review submissions, and contact forms from bad traffic.

It also works with many common WooCommerce extensions and themes—and the protections apply even if you’re using additional plugins or integrations.

How to Enable VPN and Cloud IP Blocking for WooCommerce with OOPSpam

Getting started is quick and easy:

Step 1: Install the OOPSpam Plugin

Go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New. Search for OOPSpam Anti-Spam, install, and activate the latest version.

Create an account at the OOPSpam Dashboard and copy your API key.

Step 2: Connect Your API Key

Head to Settings > OOPSpam Anti-Spam in your WordPress admin panel.

• In the General tab, choose “OOPSpam Dashboard” as your source
• Paste your API key in the “My API Key” field

If WooCommerce is installed, a spam protection section will appear.

• Toggle ON “Activate Spam Protection” to enable spam filtering.
• Enter a custom message in the Spam Order & Registration Message field for flagged orders.
• (Optional) Toggle ON “Block orders from unknown origin” to block suspicious orders.
• (Optional) Toggle ON “Enable honeypot protection” for extra spam filtering.

Step 3: Enable IP Filtering

Navigate to the IP Filtering tab to access the new spam defense options:

• Block VPNs – Stops access from anonymized IPs (use thoughtfully)
• Block Cloud Providers – Blocks IPs linked to major server farms (recommended)

Toggle the settings you want to enable and click Save Changes. From here, OOPSpam begins filtering harmful traffic from your WooCommerce pages silently in the background.

Tips for Balancing Security and User Experience

• If you serve international or privacy-focused shoppers, consider the impact of VPN blocking carefully
• Monitor blocked submissions or orders to identify any false positives
• Use additional OOPSpam filters such as:

• • Language detection

  • Country-based restrictions

  • Keyword filtering

  • WooCommerce-specific protections

These options help you layer your defenses and catch spam without impacting sales.

Final Thoughts

Fake orders, bogus accounts, and spam reviews don’t just waste your time—they can also harm your brand’s reputation and skew your store data. By blocking VPN and cloud IPs, you can dramatically reduce spam and fraudulent activity on your WooCommerce store.

With OOPSpam, it only takes a few clicks. It’s reliable, up-to-date, and requires no complex technical steps. Just turn on the settings, and let the plugin filter the traffic you don’t want—so you can focus on running your shop.

Need assistance with the setup or want to explore how this works with other supported form plugins like Ninja Forms, Contact Form 7, and Gravity Forms? Contact us—we’re here to help.