More than 80 per cent of fraud attacks on retailers now use AI, with returns abuse fast becoming the sector’s biggest challenge, according to Forter.
New data from the digital fraud prevention specialist shows a 15 per cent rise in returns abuse in just six months driven by the ease of AI-doctored images used as fake ‘proof’ of damage or defects.
Forter has recently stopped a US$800,000 fraud ring which was abusing instant refund policies from home and fashion retailers. The criminals would purchase low-cost items, generate AI manipulated “broken” images, then request – and receive – instant refunds while also keeping the original goods.
Michael Reitblat, CEO of Forter, told Radio 5 Live’s Wake Up To Money programme (18 May 2026) that the biggest global retailers are subject to fraud attempts every minute of every day.
“AI enables you to commit better, more sophisticated fraud, and to do it at a larger scale”.
Many of those seeking fraudulent returns don’t consider themselves criminals but rather “savvy shoppers”, says Reitblat. They might buy shoes, then pretend they were faulty or dirty by using an AI agent to doctor a photo and apply for a fake refund.
“Often it’s very, very hard for the retailer to see that something’s wrong, especially since it goes to some call centre, they’re not trained in detecting AI-doctored images, and they’ll just refund you, and you just got a pair of shoes for free”, he says.
“What they’re doing is illegal, what they’re doing is against the terms of policy, but they often don’t think of it this way.
“We actually see some people post on their own social media profile, ‘Hey, you can do this thing and get the free item’, which is kind of dumb because they’re admitting a crime. But there’s clearly some disconnect that they’re thinking what they’re doing is maybe OK”.
While retailers could wait to see returns before issuing refunds – and some do – the biggest companies don’t want to keep genuine customers waiting for fear of losing their business.
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