A fraudulent chargeback means the cardholder told their bank they didn't authorize the charge. Shopify says it's the most common chargeback reason. Here's what causes it and how to fix it.
The cardholder says “not me”
Fraudulent is the reason the bank uses when the cardholder says they never authorized the payment. The disputed amount and a chargeback fee leave your balance right away. You usually have seven to twenty-one days to respond. The card issuer decides, not Shopify.
- Reason: Cardholder didn't authorize the charge
- Funds: Amount + fee withdrawn right away
- Deadline: Usually 7–21 days to respond
- Decides: The card issuer, not Shopify
Three common stories
There are three common stories behind it. Someone used a stolen card on your store. The real cardholder forgot the purchase, or a family member made it. Or the cardholder made the purchase, and disputes it anyway. That last one is often called friendly fraud.
| Option | What it means |
|---|---|
| Stolen card | Someone else used the card |
| Forgotten order | Family member, or forgotten purchase |
| Friendly fraud | Bought it, disputes it anyway |
Read the order like the bank
Before you respond, read the order the way the bank will. Does the billing address match the shipping address? Which country was the IP address in? Is this a first order, or a customer with a good history? And what did Shopify's fraud analysis say?
- Address: Billing and shipping match?
- IP: Same country as the billing address?
- Customer: First order, or a good history?
- Risk: Shopify's fraud analysis on the order
Contact the customer
Step one. Shopify recommends contacting the customer first. If they recognize the charge, ask them to contact their bank and drop the chargeback. Only they can do that. Then submit evidence anyway, including the message where they agreed the charge was valid.
1. Email the customer about the charge
2. If valid, they ask their bank to drop it
3. Still submit evidence, with their reply
Submit the evidence
Step two. If you believe the order was genuine, submit evidence from the order's chargeback banner. Shopify recommends four things: when you fulfilled it, the billing information used, the IP address and country, and shipping and tracking. Open with a short summary that ties the cardholder to the order.
- Fulfilled: Date and time you fulfilled the order
- Billing: Billing information the customer used
- IP: IP address and country of the order
- Shipping: Shipping and tracking information
Check before you ship
To prevent the next one, review risky orders before you ship. Shopify suggests capturing payments manually, so you can check the fraud analysis before fulfilling high-risk orders. Use tracking. And write down why you shipped each order you were unsure about.
- Capture: Manually, for high-risk orders
- Review: Read the fraud analysis first
- Track: Ship with tracking
- Record: Note why you approved the order
Doing this at scale
RiskClarity helps with the before part. It reviews each paid order, explains the risk in plain English, and recommends allow, verify, or hold. Every decision is logged with its signals, ready to export for a dispute. It can't win a chargeback for you, but you'll have a record. See RiskClarity.