Battling Fraudulent Returns
When one of our clients reported a spike in fraudulent returns of certain products and knowing our curious nature and desire to help, they asked us for a solution. Our team was eager to take on this challenge and our solution has resulted in a 90% reduction of their returns fraud!
Read on below to understand how we managed this and how we are keen to help others suffering a similar fate.
Addressing the Problem
Our extensive experience with technology and innovative solutions positioned us well to tackle the issue of fraudulent product returns, particularly focusing on Apple iPhones and AirPods. The client needed a method for employees to quickly and easily validate the authenticity of returns.
To provide context, iPhone 15 Range (based on an average 6 months of sales):
- 74,000 units sold
- 10,000 returns
- 60-80 counterfeit models returned per month
While 60-80 fake phones out of 10,000 returns might seem minor (0.8%), the financial impact is significant, given the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s price of around £1200. This equates to a monthly loss of £72,000 to £96,000.
Our Approach
We began by brainstorming and testing various ideas to create a solution that met the following criteria:
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- Quick and simple to use (under ten seconds)
- Easy for a large, diverse workforce to understand and use
- Simple training for fast onboarding
- Low budget for mass production and competitive pricing
- Reliable decision-making for employees
- Future-proof to adapt to evolving fraud tactics
With extensive testing and trials, our team, including some self-proclaimed Apple “geeks”, developed a solution that ticked all the boxes:
- Quick and simple
- Easy to use and train
- Low cost
- Fool-proof
- Future-proof
An additional benefit is that the tool we developed requires no power source, cables, or batteries, aligning with our green initiatives to reduce emissions wherever possible!
Results and Future Plans
While we can’t divulge the specifics of our solution in this blog to avoid aiding fraudsters, if you would like to find out more, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss our solutions further. What we can share is that our tool reduced fraudulent returns by 90% within two months of implementation!
Following this success, we faced a new challenge: sealed box frauds. This involved fake boxes and seals, particularly with the rise of direct-from-factory shopping platforms. Our team tackled this by developing another low-cost, power-free test to combat fraud in sealed box returns of Apple products.
What's Next?
We are now working on the next generation of fraud protection, including AI models trained with our growing knowledge and data sets. We continue to upscale our tools and research other products where we can help reduce fraud.
Through this project, we’ve recognised the need for our tools in the digital retail age. We aim to collaborate with retailers and manufacturers to combat this industry-wide problem. If your company is experiencing an increase in fraudulent returns or concerns about return validity, please contact us to learn more about our solutions.
Join our Fraud Fighting Coalition
When a client presents us with a problem, we at TMTI commit to delivering a solution or, even better, a range of solutions. While our primary role is to provide tech support aimed at reducing returns through phone and online assistance, we are always ready to tackle new challenges, even those that extend beyond traditional technical support!
