The Secret Setting That Reduces Fraudulent Orders on Shopify

When I used WordPress for my business years ago.

They had this amazing feature of fraudulent orders.

I had to shift gears eventually and go with Shopify for more updated e-commerce integrations.

As WordPress kept going surprisingly slower and shockingly pricey.

But Shopify lacked this feature for years, I even communicated it with the fraud team in the headquarters around 2017.

However, they added it recently, so let me tell you about it.

Fraudulent Orders

You get your sale, and it may even be your first one. Then you notice a notification telling you that you owe a chargeback.

Although it had been shipped to the right address, you lost the item and the payment.

A lot of people run these scams, sometimes with several identities and an automated workflow.

You can take precautions and apply this setting or wait until it becomes noticeably costly.

That depends on how flexible and patient you are.

The Setting

You will need to go to settings > checkout > address collection preferences.

The recommended pre-checked option will allow shipping and billing addresses to be different.

That means a customer can order to an address that’s not on their card.

You must change that to require shipping and billing addresses to match.

That will prevent scammers from dodging the shipment as it will be delivered to their hand precisely.

So, the credit card processing will match addresses to make sure everything aligns.

And you can even confirm that with the delivery services to ensure full security.

The Scammers Framework

Their process will be around buying a high-value item and then shipping it to an empty house or an empty apartment.

In most cases, using stolen or fake cards.

The delivery guy will be leaving it there.

Then instantly they will ask about the chargeback.

It doesn’t only hurt your profit but also hurt your reputation and your relations with Shopify.

So, if the frequency is picking up recently, you might want to put that into action immediately.

It won’t affect your real sales, and it’s better to have a few validated orders than a dozen of fraud orders.

Their Way Around the System

The fraud might even want to elaborate with you after you change your settings.

If it’s not a very old customer, you want to politely turn them down.

As they’ll be requesting to verify their order with different addresses.

That is your obvious sign that they’re bluffing.

The Industry Nature

Depending on your industry that might vary.

In the hair business, there are a ton of high-ticket items.

If most of your revenue comes from gifts, you may reconsider.

But overall, you’ll be more sensitive to this kind of scam as the fraud recognizes this opportunity.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to the fraud team on Shopify, they can be a great help sometimes.

And always remember to understand your platform thoroughly.

I will be sharing all the hidden gems I know, so, stay tuned.