People Are Abusing My Promotions

The Promotion Problem

Your promotions are meant for:

• New customers
• Specific audiences
• Limited quantities

But abusers exploit them through:

• VPNs to appear as new users
• Multiple accounts
• Code sharing sites
• Automated redemption

Common Abuse Patterns

Multi-Account Abuse

Same person, many accounts:

• Different emails
• Different VPN locations
• Same payment method (oops!)

Code Sharing

Your exclusive codes appearing on:

• Coupon sites
• Reddit threads
• Social media

Geographic Arbitrage

Using VPNs to access:

• Region-specific pricing
• Location-limited offers
• Market-specific deals

Protection Strategies

VPN Blocking

During promotional periods:

• Block VPN traffic entirely
• Or flag orders for review
• Prevents location spoofing

Geographic Restrictions

For geo-specific promos:

• Enforce actual location
• VPN blocking essential
• Block non-target regions

Order Review

Flag suspicious patterns:

• Multiple orders, same payment
• VPN users during promos
• Unusual order velocity

With SecurEcommerce

1. Enable VPN blocking during promotions
2. Tighten geographic restrictions
3. Monitor redemption patterns
4. Adjust blocking based on results

Setting Expectations

You can’t stop all abuse:

• Shared codes will spread
• Determined abusers adapt
• Some slip through

But you can significantly reduce it and protect most of your promotional budget.