U.S. retailers lost as much as $35 billion to fraudulent online returns in 2023. 

Tracking online sales data from 60 of the top U.S. online retailers over the last year, risk management platform Appriss Retail found that returns fraud surged by 1.5% year-over-year in 2023, estimating that 10.5% of all returns claims were fraudulent. And as online sales have continued to grow, fraudsters have gotten even more sophisticated.

Appriss says that organized retail theft rings have been "unleashing a connected group of professional returners," who will purchase items online, resell those items, and then file for a refund from the original retailer. It's estimated that there are more than 1,600 ads for professional refund services within dark web forums, where fraudsters will also share templates they use for complaint letters, as well as scripts designed to fool chatbots and call centers. 

Data provided by one retailer to Appriss found that a single offender had made 119 transactions, using 105 different email addresses and 113 customer IDs. Another had racked up over $4,500 in refunds for fraudulent price adjustment claims. 

There's no question that the problem of fraudulent returns activity related to goods purchased online is a serious problem. Nearly half of 500 e-commerce merchants surveyed by UPS Capital over the past 12 months said they suspected more than 20% of their returns have been fraudulent.