Return to Sender How UK retailers can spot fraud before it happens

UK retailers lost around £11.3 billion to return fraud in 2023, equivalent to approximately 13.7% of all returns, according to research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research. With British consumers increasingly confident in asserting their statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, including the 14-day cooling-off period for online purchases, fraudsters are exploiting these protections in increasingly sophisticated ways.

Recent reports highlight the rise of digital shoplifting across UK high streets and ecommerce platforms- from wardrobing (buying items to wear once, then returning them) to empty-box scams and bricking (returning damaged or non-functioning versions of high-value items). The challenge? Most UK retailers still rely on reactive fraud detection, by which point the refund is already being processed.

According to Lei Gao, Chief Technology Officer at conversational AI platform SleekFlow, the early signals of return fraud are often hidden in plain sight - in customer conversations that happen well before the return is initiated.

"We see the same pattern across retailers in the UK," Gao says. "Fraudsters don't wait until after the purchase to signal intent. The way they speak, what they ask about, and how they engage - these are subtle but measurable indicators, and they show up long before a product ever comes back." Drawing on SleekFlow's work with customer-centric retail teams across fashion, beauty, and electronics, Gao outlines some of the conversational red flags that often precede opportunistic returns, particularly during peak UK shopping periods like Black Friday, Royal Ascot, and the Boxing Day sales:

Red flags UK retailers should watch for:
Before purchase:

• Detailed or repeated questions about return windows and exceptions, especially around events
• Messaging focused on statutory return rights (e.g. cooling-off periods) rather than product fit or features
• Attempts to confirm loopholes, such as returning used items under "change of mind" clauses

After purchase:

• Return timing aligned with specific events (e.g. weddings, Glastonbury, Christmas parties)
• Conversations that avoid product satisfaction and focus solely on logistics
• Customers demonstrating unusual fluency in UK return policy or consumer law

Across channels:

• Contradictory claims across email, chat or social DMs
• Disproportionate engagement around return rights over other service queries
• Mention of "faulty goods" under the Consumer Rights Act, even when items appear fully functional

"There's a real difference between someone with genuine uncertainty and someone gaming the system," Gao explains. "They ask different questions, at different times, in different tones - and when you analyse those behaviours at scale, patterns emerge."

The key, Gao argues, is to move from reactive to proactive fraud detection by leveraging the conversational intelligence already embedded in live chat, social messaging, and email interactions. For UK retailers navigating post-Brexit regulatory shifts, rising fraud rates, and pressure to maintain trust, this approach helps strike a balance between protecting margins and respecting consumer rights.

Why this matters for UK retailers:

• Return fraud costs UK businesses £11.3 billion annually, equating to 13.7% of all returns
• Most current fraud tools focus too late - during the refund or logistics stage
• UK legislation (e.g. the Consumer Rights Act 2015) creates specific policy vulnerabilities
• Conversational patterns are an untapped yet scalable way to detect risk earlier
• Brands that act earlier can reduce losses without adding friction for honest customers

Whilst still an emerging area, leveraging NLP and conversational analytics to spot early signs of return fraud is increasingly recognised as an innovative rather than widely deployed capability.