Easy return policies have been a key in e-commerce, but AI is offering China’s consumers an easy way to commit fraud, writes consumer expert Ashley Dudarenok on her weblog. A buyer purchases a product, photographs it in good condition, and feeds the image into an AI tool with a simple instruction: “Add mold spots to this fruit” or “Create a tear in this clothing item,” she writes.
Ashley Dudarenok:
Return fraud is not a new phenomenon. But the accessibility of generative AI has transformed it from a manual, high-effort activity into a scalable threat. Previously, fake damage photos required basic photo-editing skills. Today, anyone with a smartphone can generate convincing fake photos of damaged goods in under 20 seconds.
The mechanism is straightforward. A buyer purchases a product, photographs it in good condition, and feeds the image into an AI tool with a simple instruction: “Add mold spots to this fruit” or “Create a tear in this clothing item.”
The AI generates a modified image that appears to show a defective product. The buyer then submits this AI-generated evidence as part of a refund-only claim, keeping both the product and the refund.
This form of refund abuse has proliferated across categories from fresh produce to apparel to electronics. The scale is concerning. On social platforms, tutorials openly advertise “refund-only tricks” for a fee of 288 yuan, with claims that a single account can successfully execute approximately 30 refunds. Some operators even offer “代退” services, charging 170 yuan to forge medical certificates or damage evidence.
More on Ashley Dudarenok’s weblog.
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