the "scalper problem" is strikingly similar to many cryptographic problems - the "sybil problem" in token distribution ("distribute 25 bitcoin every 10 minutes to a random participant") is obviously similar to distributing scarce items which are scalpable (sold below market clearance price).

I once met a guy who had a stack of 50 sim cards used for bot buying sneakers and playstations. Guy didn't work in tech but had learned javascript and selenium for scalping. You can also ship a lot of things to the same address by just altering it slightly like setting the unit/number to 1B or something when there is no 1B, the delivery people will get it to the right place but the unique check will think it's a different address.

He had apparently made enough money doing this to pull himself out of poverty and get a decent life going.