At Rails Fever, we work with SaaS companies that don’t have in-house engineering teams. A recurring issue we see is the rise of automated bot traffic, which has spiked with the adoption of AI tooling by bots. This isn’t just “noise on the server.” Bot traffic has real costs, both human and financial, that can put an entire business at risk.
Recently, a client enrolled in our Rails Care Plan came to us with a problem: fraudulent transactions were rising sharply. After digging in, we found the root cause—an organized wave of bots targeting their checkout flow.
The Impact of Bot Traffic
Unchecked bot traffic hits harder than most founders realize:
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Financial losses: fraudulent signups, test transactions, and stolen credit cards drive up chargeback fees.
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Customer risk: bots attempting account takeovers lead to real users losing trust.
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Support team burnout: staff spend hours cleaning up fake accounts, refunds, and angry emails.
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Infrastructure strain: bots inflate server load, forcing unnecessary scaling and higher bills.
The hidden cost is the time and stress this creates for the humans running the business. Left unresolved, it becomes more than a technical issue—it’s a revenue and reputation issue.
How We Stopped the Bots
Working closely with the client, we applied a layered defense strategy:
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Pattern Identification – First, we analyzed request logs to isolate unusual traffic signatures and behaviors.
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WAF Rules – We deployed tuned rules in AWS CloudFront to block suspicious patterns while allowing legitimate users through.
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Rate Limiting & Throttling – Checkout endpoints were protected from rapid-fire attacks without breaking normal user flows.
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Monitoring & Iteration – We set up ongoing alerts and tuned rules weekly based on new patterns.
The results were dramatic: fraudulent transactions dropped by over 90% within weeks.
The Human and Security Costs of Ignoring Bots
If bot traffic is not handled, it drains a business slowly:
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Founders spend more time on fraud disputes than product growth.
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Support teams burn out chasing fake signups.
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Users lose trust when their accounts are compromised.
Security problems often start as “nuisances” but quickly escalate into business risks.
A Case for Proactive Care
This is exactly why the Rails Care Plan exists. It’s not just about keeping apps patched and servers healthy. It’s about anticipating threats like this and acting before they spiral into six-figure problems.
Our job is to keep your Rails app running smoothly so you can focus on growth, not fraud disputes.
If you’re seeing unusual traffic, fake signups, or unexplained charges, don’t ignore it. Let’s get ahead of it.
Need help with Rails maintenance? We offer comprehensive Rails Care Plans for ongoing support, technical audits to assess your current state, and Rails upgrades to keep you current. View our pricing plans to find the right fit for your needs.
Schedule a consultation to discuss your Rails needs.