Return Claims
A photo is no longer proof of damage.
Anyone can now generate a convincing photo of a "damaged" product with an AI image tool. Some shoppers are already using them to get refunds on items they received in perfect condition. RealShield AI checks the photo before you pay.
Return fraud is already a tens of billions problem.
Total US retail returns expected in 2025, 15.8% of annual sales.
Source: NRF and Happy Returns, October 2025
Share of returns that are fraudulent, about $76 billion in 2025. The dollar figure is our own calculation from the report's two numbers.
Source: NRF and Happy Returns, October 2025
Cost of fraudulent returns and claims to US retailers in 2024, with 15.14% of returns deemed fraudulent.
Source: Appriss Retail with Deloitte, December 2024
Share of retailers now using AI to detect or prevent return fraud.
Source: NRF and Happy Returns, October 2025
These two studies define fraud differently, so the honest range is roughly 9% to 15% of returns.
What retailers report seeing
Overstated quantity. Of retailers tracking fraud incidents, this share report it.
Empty box or "box of rocks."
Decoy returns such as counterfeit items.
Source for all three: NRF and Happy Returns, October 2025.
Now the evidence itself can be faked.
A shopper buys a product and receives it in good condition.
They use an AI image tool to create a photo of it torn, cracked or crushed.
They send that photo through the return or claims process and ask for a refund.
Bedding brand Boll & Branch has publicly described finding AI-generated damage photos in customer return claims.
Source: PYMNTS, March 2026
French media reported AI-generated damage photos used to get refunds on Vinted, Amazon and Fnac.
Source: OECD AI Incidents Monitor, March 2026
Yofi's CEO told Modern Retail the company went from rare cases to seeing this daily across its merchants.
Source: Modern Retail, March 2026
It is not only photos.
Reports also describe AI-made fake shipping receipts and AI-written complaints.
The photo is one piece you can check.
Check the photo before you refund.
Return Verification is part of the RealShield AI app.
Upload the photo a customer sent with a return request.
Get a clear answer.
Risk rating
Every photo gets a score and a rating of Low Risk, Medium Risk or High Risk.
Heatmap
See which areas of the image look manipulated, so you know what to question.
Plain guidance
Each result tells you what to do next, such as asking the customer for more evidence.
No significant AI signals detected. Photo appears consistent with authentic capture.
Moderate manipulation indicators detected. Consider requesting additional documentation.
Strong AI-generation signals detected in this return photo. Consider requesting additional evidence before approving the return.
RealShield gives you one strong signal. No detector is perfect, so use it alongside your order history and your own judgment. You stay in control of every refund decision.
Return Verification checks photos. Your scan history is kept in the app so you can review past decisions.
See it on a return photo
Real examples, run through RealShield AI.
Submitted photo
Heatmap
Strong AI-generation signals detected in this return photo. Consider requesting additional evidence before approving the return.
A photo of broken headphones. Three independent AI detection tools flagged it as AI-generated. RealShield rated it High Risk.
Submitted photo
No significant AI signals detected. Photo appears consistent with authentic capture.
A real photo of a cracked phone screen, taken in 2012, long before AI image tools existed. RealShield rated it Low Risk.
Photo by Håkan Dahlström, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized and cropped).
A PDF report for every scan
Every scan through the RealShield AI API comes with a PDF report.
It shows the score, the risk rating, the submitted photo, the heatmap and a plain recommendation.
Keep it with the return or the claim as a record of what was checked.
Samples generated from the headphones example above.
Stop paying for photos that were never real.
Or email us at support@realshield.ai
Sources, as of September 2026
- NRF and Happy Returns, 2025 Retail Returns Landscape
- Appriss Retail with Deloitte, 2024 returns fraud researchBusiness Wire|Yahoo Finance
- Modern Retail, brands battling AI driven return fraud
- PYMNTS, AI generated damage claims
- OECD AI Incidents Monitor, refund fraud on Vinted, Amazon and Fnac