Article 159.6

Confession of a Promo Code Abuser: How Russian Marketplaces Lost Millions to Multi-Account Fraud Farms

A detailed three-year account reveals how one operator built a sophisticated promo code abuse operation targeting Russian e-commerce and food delivery platforms. The scheme relied on emulators, virtual numbers, anti-detect browsers such as Dolphin Anty, Octo and AdsPower, mobile proxies and physical SIM banks to register thousands of new accounts and extract discounts up to 80 percent. Early success gave way to advanced defenses including Device Fingerprinting, behavioral biometrics and graph-based geolocation analysis that detected mechanical clicking patterns and repeated delivery coordinates. Banks applying 115-FZ rules began freezing accounts, while retailers escalated cases under Article 159.6 of the Criminal Code for computer fraud and Article 187 for illicit payment instrument turnover. The operator eventually dismantled the farm after observing colleagues receive prison sentences and massive civil claims. The story illustrates the rapid evolution of corporate anti-fraud systems and the shift from low-risk arbitrage to criminal liability.