Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, and the National Consumers League sent a letter to the House and Senate sponsors of the Stopping Grinch Bots Act, which would protect consumers from the predatory use of “shopping bots.” These automated software programs can submit hundreds of orders for popular items in minutes, depleting the supply and forcing consumers who are searching for those products to turn to online auctions and other third-party marketplaces and pay much more than the retail price to obtain them.