Grinchbot Activity Spikes Before the Holidays

  • By David Lukic
  • Published: Dec 22, 2021
  • Last Updated: Mar 18, 2022
 The internet is being inundated with grinchbots as the holidays approach.  The considerable increase in grinchbot activity has e-tailers, businesses, consumers, and governments concerned.

What are Grinchbots?

Grinchbots are automated bots.  These bots search through internet product inventories to buy popular items.  Grinchbots are programmed to pounce on sales ahead of human shoppers.  Grinchbots also quickly activate to snag unique products as soon as they hit the online market.

Why are Grinchbots a Problem?

Grinchbots make it difficult for consumers, businesses, governments, and other parties to buy the items they need or desire.  Online shoppers don’t have the same rapid processing speed as Grinchbots.  These bots beat human consumers to the punch, landing the most coveted web-based deals in mere seconds.  

Grinchbots make it difficult for people and organizations to purchase coveted items ranging from video game consoles to sneakers, computers, and beyond.  The programmers behind grinchbots often flip the purchased items for sizable premiums.  The best grinchbot programmers are good enough to use this technology to make a profit on par with small businesses.

How Bad has the Grinchbot Problem Become?

The grinchbot problem is worsening as time progresses.  Imperva Research Labs reports bot traffic has escalated throughout November.  Grinchbot activity has jumped more than 70% on a month-to-month basis.  Grinchbot activity on retail sites is up nearly 15% on a year-over-year basis.  Bot activity has increased 8% in the week following Cyber Monday compared to the same week in ’20. 

Just under 60% of all digital attacks on e-tailer websites were levied by bots.  In comparison, merely one-third of attacks on other industry sites were executed by bots.  There is no indication that the Grinchbot phenomenon will cool down any time soon.  Grinchbots are likely here to stay well beyond Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and the start of the new year.

Why are Grinchbots so Active as the Year Winds Down?

The escalation of grinchbot activity as ’21 reaches its end results from several factors.  The rise of the Omicron coronavirus variant has prompted more businesses to offer web-only deals.  Add in the fact that more consumers are shifting to the web for holiday shopping, and there is even more reason for grinchbot programmers to ramp up activity.  

Can E-tailers Stop Grinchbots?

Online retailers are weaving in new controls to filter out grinchbots.  The programmers responsible for these bots are pivoting accordingly to find ways to snag the best deals on the web.  Grinchbot operators create and farm email addresses, watching online videos, and performing other activities to resemble humans.  

Grinchbot operators are even going as far as cracking gift cards by inputting millions of number and letter combinations to pinpoint active gift cards with remaining balances.  E-tailers are struggling to keep up with the sheer volume of gift card hacking attempts.  

Congress stepped in with the Stopping Grinch Bots Act, yet it might be too little too late.  The challenge lies in enforcing grinchbot laws in the digital wild west of the internet.  Time will tell if e-tailers and governments can stop or even slow the rapid expansion of grinchbots.

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