The 10-point returns fraud audit checklist

A solid returns fraud audit can be run on your own data in days. Here is the checklist we use.

One through four cover the customer view: rank customers by lifetime return count, by keep rate, by return value, and by condition flags. The overlap between those four lists is your abuse core.

Five through seven cover behavior: time from delivery to return request per customer, multi-unit order rate per customer, and return-window usage. Fast, habitual, last-day returns are the classic abuse signature.

Eight through ten cover the catalog and the policy: multi-unit orders per SKU, return reasons per SKU, and a line-by-line read of your policy against what you actually enforce. Most brands finish the checklist with a short list of customers to warn, a few SKUs to fix, and one policy gap to close.