API abuse patterns beyond rate limits

Rate limits are necessary, but they are not the whole API defense.

Abuse can stay slow

Credential stuffing, inventory scraping, and fake account workflows can distribute requests across identity and infrastructure.

Shape matters

GraphQL queries, WebSocket events, and REST endpoints expose different abuse patterns and observability gaps.

Bind the story

API decisions improve when request rate is joined with account state, device signals, token use, and historical behavior.