How to spot and block fake COD orders
October 22, 2026 · dbcod team
Fake orders and serial returners are a tax on every cash-on-delivery store. You pay to ship a parcel that was never going to be accepted. The fix is not to ship scared — it is to recognise the risky orders before you confirm them.
What a risky order looks like
Risk shows up in patterns: a buyer with past returns or cancellations, several orders from the same number in a short window, a mismatched or incomplete address, or a number that other stores have flagged. None of these is proof on its own, but together they tell you where to look before you ship.
Score every customer, not just new ones
A risk score built from a customer's own history — across all their orders with you — turns scattered signals into a single at-a-glance judgement. Pair it with a shared network of known return-abusers and you catch the repeat offenders who move between stores.
Decide what to do, order by order
Flagging is guidance, not an automatic block. For a risky order you might require an advance before shipping, call to confirm, or ban the number outright. Keeping the decision in your hands means you protect margin without turning away good customers.
FAQ
Look for risky patterns — past returns, duplicate orders, incomplete addresses, flagged numbers — ideally combined into a single risk score so you can judge each order at a glance.
No — treat the flag as guidance. Require an advance, call to confirm, or ban only the worst, so you keep good customers while cutting losses.
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