For independent station sellers who have built websites on platforms such as ShopifyHigh-risk ordersis a presence that is not unfamiliar. These orders may involve different country regulations, differences in payment methods, and different forms of fraud.
Fraud alone can be overwhelmingly numerous: account takeover (ATO) fraud, dormant accounts suddenly becoming active, scalping after account takeover, and even abuse ......of the "goods not received" claims policyIt's complicated, it's hard to guard against.
When faced with high-risk order alerts, sellers may need to be as prudent as a financial analyst and as wise as a market strategistWhat are the risks associated with the order?Should it be shipped?What will be the impact after delivery?
Today, let's crack them one by one.
Common order risks
common order risks
When these anomalies "stack buffs" on an order, sellers need to start being careful
1 New Accounts or New Customers
Newly created accounts or first-time customers can be the "vests" of fraudulent activity.
2 Large Orders
Different from the usual shopping behavior of buyers, unusually large orders.
3 Frequent trading
If an account or IP address frequently makes multiple transactions in a short period of time, there may be anomalies, such as bot or fraud gang activity.
4. The delivery address is abnormal
Unusual shipping addresses, especially those that do not match the account registration information or change frequently.
5. Abnormal payment information
High concentration of card bins, or multiple attempts to pay are rejected by the card issuer, etc.
6 Use Anonymous** or VPN Orders
The order comes from an address that uses an anonymous** or virtual private network (VPN).
7 Other anomalies
Bulk purchases of specific products, abnormal order speeds, etc.
Shopify's fraud risk mechanism
fraud control on shopify
In order to deal with these risky orders, the website building platform is also taking measures to protect sellers. Shopify offers a "Fraud Control Checkout Rules" tool to help intercept potentially fraudulent orders, allowing sellers to improve operational efficiency and reduce losses.
Risks that cannot be identified with the naked eye must be analyzed with the help of tools and big data. Shopify provides it for every orderFraud analysis metricsand when it triggers it means a potential risk:
Finally, Shopify will give recommendations and conclusions about the risk of the order, tooLow, medium, highThree levels of risk differentiation. A complete analysis of orders lists all indicators and is color-coded to highlight different types of behaviors.
How to respond to high-risk orders
how to address high-risk orders
In real trading,Either manual or algorithmicHigh-risk orders cannot be identified 100% correctly。As a seller, whether to stick with the shipment or cancel the order may vary from case to case.
In general, the following factors can be considered to decide whether or not to proceed with the shipment:
1 Review the order information
Carefully review the details of the order, including the item purchased, the amount of the order, the delivery address, etc., to make sure of theseThe information is reasonableConsistently
2 Verify your payment information
Confirm the authenticity of the payment information and check whether the credit card information (including name, card number, expiration date, CVV, billing address, zip code, etc.) matches. In addition,If the transaction passes 3DS verification, the risk of fraud can be eliminated to a greater extent
3 Contact the buyer
Try to contact the buyer by email or ** to confirm the order information, becauseFraudulent orders often use invalid ** numbers。If someone answers, ask a few simple questions about the order, such as asking if they know the address, email, and name they previously used to order.
4 History
Review the buyer's purchase history to see if there are similar high-risk situations.
5 Late Shipments
If you have doubts, you can temporarily delay the shipment pending further verification or clear your concerns.
6 Use fraud detection tools
Take advantage of the more fraud detection tools offered by Shopify, as well as other possible third-party plugin services, or seek further assistance from payment companies.
Post-shipment risk
potential risk
Of course, sellers need to protect themselves from fraud and prevent misjudging normal orders. In this case, encountering too "smart" "opponents", or taking risks to deliver goods, have made many sellers fall into the trap of fraud.
Decisions to ship after risk assessment can sometimes keep normal orders, but they are inevitablePotential risks
Fraudulent chargebacks
Normally, the Shopify backend prompts high-risk ordersThere will be a 90% probability that a chargeback will occur
The dangers of fraudulent chargebacks have also been described in previous articles, in addition to the cost of goods purchased, chargebacks also bring direct and indirect costs in all aspects of transactions, operations, marketing and procurement.
In addition, while payment methods such as Afterpay support chargeback packages, butHigh chargebacks can affect a seller's credit rating with these payment providers, which is more likely to lead to the closure of the collection channel.
At the same time, platforms such as Shopify can also take action against merchants with excessively high chargeback rates, including account suspension, if sellers are found to be ignoring high-risk order warningsDropLow merchant ratings
Reputational damage
It is possible for the customer to receive the product after receiving itFile a refund or dispute, especially if they claim unauthorized transactions. This can lead to long-term trading disputes and dispute resolution.
In the long run, sellers may be negatively evaluated due to disputes over transactions, which may have an impact on their credibility and sales on the platform in the future.
In the face of an endless stream of risk orders,Prudent review and effective responseIt is a compulsory course for cross-border sellers. I wish all sellers can stay away from the risk of orders and win a big victory in the battle against fraud.