Illustrative case study

Protecting an Azure SaaS platform against automated fake accounts

How SiARA Shield can stop bots that bypass CAPTCHA and email OTP using disposable inboxes, rotating proxies and fresh virtual-machine sessions.

Azure SaaS registration protected against automated fake account creation
Anonymous cloud SaaS scenario — Microsoft Azure web registration.

An Azure-hosted SaaS platform was targeted by automated fake-account creation. Attackers used disposable email addresses, CAPTCHA-solving services, automated email OTP retrieval, rotating proxies and fresh virtual-machine sessions to make each attempt appear new.

When CAPTCHA and OTP only prove mailbox access — not a human — what stops the bots?

Thousands of fake registrations created heavy application and infrastructure load and made simple IP or session tracking ineffective.

In this illustrative deployment scenario, adding SiARA Shield at the registration journey reduced automated fake-registration activity to near zero while legitimate users could continue normally.

At a glance

Azure-hosted SaaS registration

Scenario
Anonymous cloud SaaS platform
Environment
Microsoft Azure
Channel
Web SaaS registration
Existing controls
Google reCAPTCHA + email OTP
Use case
Fake sign-up protection
Solution
SiARA Shield by CyberSiARA
Attack pattern
Disposable email · CAPTCHA solving · OTP replay · proxy / VM rotation
Objective
Stop automated fake accounts without friction for genuine users
Key results

Automation collapsed. Service recovered.

Thousands / day

automated fake registrations before SiARA Shield in this scenario.

< 40 sec

potential automated sign-up cycle once CAPTCHA, email and OTP are scripted.

Near zero

observed automated fake-registration activity after SiARA Shield.

Legitimate users

could continue without repeated CAPTCHA-style friction.

The challenge

CAPTCHA, OTP and IP reputation were not enough

The platform was receiving thousands of automated account registrations. The traffic consumed application resources, triggered repeated email OTP processing and placed enough pressure on the Azure-hosted service to degrade availability.

Google reCAPTCHA and email OTP were already in place. Bots could outsource CAPTCHA solving, create disposable email inboxes, retrieve OTP messages automatically and submit the OTP back to the site — proving mailbox access, not human presence.

Automated fake signup flow bypassing CAPTCHA and email OTP
Rotating proxies, disposable emails and fresh VMs made each attempt look new.
Why tracking failed

Every attempt looked like a new user

Attackers rotated proxies and IP addresses, used large pools of email identities and started fresh sessions from virtual machines after a few attempts.

At scale, fake sign-ups can increase Azure compute, database, API and logging costs; overwhelm registration services; contaminate analytics; abuse trials; raise SOC workload; and damage customer experience through slowdowns or outages.

1. Disposable email Temporary mailbox selected
2. CAPTCHA solved External solving service
3. OTP received Inbox scraped automatically
4. OTP replayed Valid code submitted
SiARA Shield Verify human before account creation completes
Allow genuine / block automation

Once automated, CAPTCHA, email delivery and OTP submission become repeatable workflow steps — not proof of a genuine customer.

The CyberSiARA approach

Verify the human — not just the identity signals

SiARA Shield adds a human-verification layer that does not depend solely on IP, email, device or session reputation.

Behavioural analysis

Assess interaction behaviour in real time to spot sophisticated automation that looks like a new user.

Human verification

Confirm a genuine person is behind the registration before the automated workflow completes.

Stop OTP abuse early

Reduce fraudulent sign-ups that trigger repeated verification-email and OTP processing.

Low friction for users

Legitimate customers can continue registering without unnecessary challenge interruptions.

Cloud cost control

Less bot traffic means fewer unnecessary compute, database, API and logging operations on Azure.

Measurable results

Fake registrations fell. Availability recovered.

In this anonymised illustrative scenario, the platform moved from thousands of automated registrations per day and significant server pressure to near-zero observed fake sign-up activity after SiARA Shield was placed in the registration journey.

That protects service availability, cloud spend, analytics integrity and the experience for genuine users.

Illustrative normalised trend for this anonymised scenario. It demonstrates the intended before/after pattern and should not be interpreted as independently audited customer telemetry.
Security & business impact

Stop chasing identities. Verify the human.

Stronger protection at registration reduces infrastructure load and fake-account contamination while genuine customers keep a smooth path to sign up.

SiARA Shield verifies human interaction before the automated workflow completes account creation.

Impact after deployment

  • Service availability — reduced automated load helps protect registration and application performance.
  • Cloud cost control — fewer unnecessary compute, database, API and logging operations.
  • Cleaner user data — far fewer fake accounts improve growth and conversion analytics.
  • Reduced OTP abuse — fewer fraudulent sign-ups mean less verification-email processing.
  • Lower SOC workload — less time tracing disposable emails, proxies and rotating sessions.
  • Customer experience — genuine users continue without repeated CAPTCHA-style friction.
Why it matters

Mailbox access is not the same as a genuine customer

Modern fake-account bots can pass CAPTCHA, receive email OTPs and rotate identity signals faster than traditional controls can keep up.

This scenario shows how SiARA Shield can protect SaaS registration by verifying human interaction — without relying solely on IP, email, device or session reputation.

Publication note: This anonymised illustrative case study demonstrates a representative Azure-hosted SaaS attack and protection scenario. Volumes, timing and outcome are scenario data, not independently audited claims for a named customer; actual results vary by environment. CyberSiARA claims no affiliation with Microsoft Azure beyond describing a common hosting environment used in this scenario.

See what is reaching your applications

Protect registration without chasing disposable identities.

SiARA Shield by CyberSiARA helps distinguish legitimate users from sophisticated automated activity — without unnecessary friction.