Return fraud types: a glossary
Why a shared vocabulary matters
Teams that name the pattern they are seeing handle it faster and more consistently. The terms below are the ones support leads, marketplaces and risk teams use most often; each links to a dedicated page where relevant.
Glossary of terms
- Wardrobing
- Buying an item, using it once (an outfit for an event, a TV for a game), then returning it as if unused.
- Empty-box / partial-return fraud
- Claiming a parcel arrived empty or incomplete, or returning a box that is missing the item or its accessories.
- Photo manipulation
- Editing a genuine photo to add, exaggerate or invent damage in support of a refund claim.
- Screen recapture
- Photographing a screen that displays another image, to disguise a reused or downloaded picture as an original capture.
- Bricking
- Returning a deliberately disabled or stripped device — sometimes with parts swapped out — while claiming it failed on arrival.
- AI-generated claim
- Submitting a fully synthetic, AI-generated image of damage to a product that was never actually damaged.
- Return abuse (vs. fraud)
- Excessive but technically permitted returning — serial returns or bracketing — without the deception that defines fraud.
Keep reading
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common type of return fraud online?
Patterns vary by category, but photo-based claims — edited, reused or staged damage images — are especially relevant for sellers who refund without requiring the item back.
Is wardrobing illegal?
Wardrobing breaches most return policies and can amount to fraud when paired with a false 'unused' declaration. Claimscan does not make that legal call — it surfaces indicators for human review.
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