Joe Gelman, Platform Marketing Manager at Riskified, dives into the fast-evolving world of fraud prevention in retail and eCommerce. He discusses the shift in consumer behavior post-pandemic, revealing how liberal return policies can attract policy abuse. Joe differentiates between policy abuse and organized fraud, highlighting complex challenges that retailers face as online shopping surges. With holiday spending projected at $240 billion, he stresses the need for strategic risk management to safeguard businesses while keeping customer experience in mind.
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Quick takeaways
The surge in online shopping has forced retailers to navigate the fine line between customer-friendly return policies and the risk of policy abuse.
Sophisticated fraud operations exploit vulnerabilities in e-commerce, making it crucial for merchants to analyze extensive data to differentiate genuine behavior from fraudulent actions.
Deep dives
Evolving Fraud Landscape in E-Commerce
The rise of online shopping, particularly projected to hit $240 billion during the holiday season, has significantly changed the fraud landscape in retail and e-commerce. While merchants are optimistic about sales, they face the challenge of balancing customer-friendly policies with potentially abusive practices. Customers have adapted to generous return and refund policies, leading to an increase in policy abuse, such as taking advantage of liberal returns without malicious intent. This ambiguity makes it challenging for merchants to differentiate between legitimate returns and those that exploit these policies, which can significantly impact their bottom line.
Varied Dimensions of Fraudulent Behavior
Fraud in e-commerce operates on a spectrum, ranging from casual policy abuse to organized schemes designed to exploit vulnerabilities. For instance, individuals may return multiple items ordered in different sizes without malicious intent, while others run sophisticated fraud operations using dark web tactics. These tactics include manipulating shipping labels or returning products containing less valuable contents, inflicting substantial costs on merchants. Such sophisticated fraud operations illustrate the complexity of discerning genuine customer behavior from fraudulent actions, presenting ongoing challenges for retailers.
Navigating Data Challenges in Fraud Detection
As e-commerce businesses gather extensive data, parsing through this information becomes essential to identify fraudulent activities. Existing data includes everything from transaction details to fulfillment and delivery processes, complicating the analysis. The recovery of costs associated with returns, especially for inexpensive items, underscores the need for merchants to refine their detection strategies while managing customer interactions. The challenge lies in confidently identifying patterns and anomalies within this vast data landscape to effectively mitigate risks without alienating legitimate customers.
Today’s guest is Joe Gelman, Platform Marketing Manager at Riskified. Riskified is a publicly traded SaaS company that specializes in fraud and chargeback prevention. Joe joins us to talk about the evolving landscape of fraud prevention for retail and eCommerce. As the holiday season approaches, with forecasts projecting $240 billion in U.S. online shopping, merchants face increasing challenges balancing customer-friendly policies with the risk of policy abuse and sophisticated fraud schemes. Joe explains how the pandemic reshaped consumer behavior, normalizing liberal return policies but also creating opportunities for fraud. He highlights how policy abuse—such as repeat returns or fake claims—differs from more organized fraud operations manipulating shipping systems or repackaging defective products. This episode is sponsored by Riskified. Learn how brands work with Emerj and other Emerj Media options at emerj.com/ad1.
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