Scalpers are ruining the Internet, and in 2026, I hope their reign of terror comes to an end

TechRadar's publication of an article highlighting the negative impact of scalpers on online shopping marks a significant call to action against these malicious actors. The article emphasizes the frustration and financial losses incurred by consumers due to scalpers' activities, which can also affect website owners who struggle to maintain fair access to their products. For website owners, this means that the issue of scalpers can lead to lost sales, damaged reputation, and decreased customer trust. As scalpers use bots to quickly purchase limited items, they can overwhelm a website's servers, leading to increased traffic and potential downtime. This can result in a poor user experience for genuine customers, ultimately driving them away. Moreover, scalpers' actions can also lead to a surge in AI bot traffic, making it challenging for website owners to distinguish between legitimate and malicious traffic. To mitigate these issues, website owners can take several steps. Firstly, they can implement robust bot detection systems to identify and block scalper bots. Secondly, they can utilize the llms.txt file to specify which AI bots are allowed to access their website, thereby restricting unwanted traffic. Lastly, website owners can consider implementing queue systems or waiting lists for limited items, making it more difficult for scalpers to exploit their websites and giving genuine customers a fair chance to make purchases.