What is a sneaker/scalper bot?

Sneaker bots continually monitor eCommerce sites for in-demand stock. The moment the stock becomes available, the bot adds it to their cart and heads to the checkout.

Bot operators run these bots on specialist “Sneaker” servers and devices, using proxies to mask their identities. There are a variety of sneaker bots available on the market, including:

Monitor bots

Monitor bots are built to check sites for stock availability, alerting their operator as soon as a new item is added.

Sneaker/scalper/sniper bots

Often referred to as All In One Bots (AIO), these bots automate the entire buying journey on a site, checking for the stock, adding to basket and checking out.

Add to cart services

Add to cart services automate most of the purchase journey, but instead of alerting the operator when stock becomes available, bots alert their operators once an item is in the basket, before manually checking out.

Account creator bots

Also known as Fake Account Creation, these bots automate the creation of accounts.

Sneaker bots target goods and services that are in high demand and/or limited supply.

Sneaker bots have been known to target:

• Ticketing and events: Scalper bots target high profile sports and music events. These sought-after tickets are resold by touts at a significant mark-up that is often beyond the reach of the fans.
• Brands and retailers: Limited-edition products are targeted by sneaker bots and scalpers, to be resold for a profit.

Although sneaker bots are not yet illegal, as more retailers become aware of the problem, they are introducing terms within their website’s terms and conditions to prohibit automated bot activity and prioritise the real fans. However, this is unlikely to deter the determined bot operator when large sums of money are at stake.

Detecting and stopping the bots in their tracks is vital.

Netacea Bot Management solves the complex problem of sneaker bots in a scalable, agile and intelligent manner, across websites, mobile apps and APIs.

Our technology monitors all site visits to a specified path and analyses them in context relative to each of the visitors to the enterprise estate. The technology automatically learns from the business’ web estate according to the specified priorities and threats it faces.

This allows us to provide you with actionable intelligence, when you need it, so that you’re empowered to make smarter decisions about your traffic.