A Big Blind Spot in Return Fraud

Before Yofi, Everlane knew something was going on with return fraud and abuse, but only in bits and pieces. There was no holistic way to see the full scope of the problem.

Jim Green, Director of Operations & Logistics describes it plainly:

The team would sometimes stumble onto issues only when something looked “off” in other systems. For example, a surprising charge on the UPS return account or with one investigation uncovering a $4,000 return that never made it back to the warehouse, discovered only because a high shipping charge prompted a manual review.

Here are the key pain points Everlane experienced before Yofi.

No Quantified View of Return Fraud

Before Yofi, the team didn’t have a clear, quantified view of return fraud. They were mostly operating on anecdotal signals and one-off investigations when something looked “off.” That made it hard to understand the true size of the problem or track progress over time.

Limited Fraud Visibility Across Orders and Time

Fraud signals were siloed, with very limited visibility across orders and customer activity over time. There wasn’t an easy way to connect related entities or spot patterns that pointed to repeat offenders. As a result, the team often treated incidents as isolated cases instead of part of a broader trend.

Refunds Processed Before Issues Were Caught

In many cases, refunds were issued before problems were discovered, especially in FTID cases, where a tracking number can appear legitimate at first glance. By the time the team realized the return never arrived (or was otherwise abusive), the money was already gone, putting them in a reactive position.

Growing Frustration and a Sense of Being Taken Advantage Of

Over time, the lack of visibility and control created real frustration internally. Operational teams felt the burden of chasing down issues, and leadership felt the financial and brand impact without a clear path to address it. As Jim put it, return fraud was a “blind spot.”

From “We Think Something’s Happening” to Full Control

1. Blocking $30,000+ in FTID Return Fraud Each Month

With Yofi in place, Everlane can flag suspicious return behavior in real time and prevent fraudulent refunds before they’re issued. As the team puts it,“Yofi flags suspicious return behaviors as they occur, which allows us to block that refund before it occurs and block that customer from ordering again.”

This shifted Everlane from reactive to proactive:

• Fraudulent refunds can be stopped before money leaves the business.
• Repeat offenders can be prevented from placing more orders.
• Teams don’t need to wait for a charge or complaint to trigger an investigation.

Yofi prevents $30,000-$40,000 in FTID returns per month and that’s just one type of return fraud.

2. A Clear View of the Problem (And a Story to Tell Internally)

For a large portion of his tenure, Jim didn’t know how deep the problem went. With Yofi, he now has a clear, data-backed view of what is actually happening. He explains, “It’s not necessarily the dollar number that will save a company on its own … but it’s every few dollars in this climate, and it’s a psychological win as much as anything.”

Now the team can:

• Quantify the fraud that’s being caught.
• Share concrete numbers and examples with executive leadership.
• Turn anecdotal “we think we’re being hit” into data-backed insight.

Leadership doesn’t just see loss prevention, they see the company fighting back.

3. Consortium Insights and Connected Identities

“We didn’t know the extent of return fraud before we started this. It’s been really unexpected to see how much we’re catching. The consortium piece is really helpful because it allows us to see when a very similar email or related entity pops up again,” Dahlia shares. Many of these connected entities were tied to repeat FTID behavior, allowing Everlane to stop fraud earlier instead of rediscovering the same abuse patterns again and again.

Yofi’s consortium and linkage logic help Everlane:

• Spot related entities (emails, addresses, patterns) that connect seemingly separate returns.
• Understand patterns over time, not just one-off incidents.
• Get early warning when someone who hit another merchant pops up in Everlane’s ecosystem.

4. Psychological Wins and Team Morale

Beyond the spreadsheets and dashboards, there’s a very human win. Jim puts it simply:
“It sucks to feel like you’re getting taken advantage of.”

Yofi gives Everlane a way to push back, and they’ve noticed the impact goes beyond the numbers.

• There’s a real morale boost in stopping repeat offenders, so customer conversations don’t have to start from suspicion or the assumption that someone’s trying to game the system.
• Sharing wins with leadership creates visible excitement and momentum.
• There’s a sense of control and agency that simply wasn’t there before.

Operational Challenges Before NoFraud

As Brew approached its 11th year in business, the company experienced a significant spike in sales — a trend that Jonathan was excited to see: “We’ve noticed a huge spike in sales, which is fantastic. So you’re a net positive.” But with that growth came a steep increase in fraudulent activity.

1. Rising Fraud and More Sophisticated Attackers

Jonathan shares that while Brew had always dealt with some level of fraud, the post-COVID era brought a wave of far more sophisticated attempts. “With that, the increase of fraudulent orders has also increased. And not just the increase in fraudulent orders, but how clever these alleged customers have become.”

These evolving fraud patterns created challenges including:

• Undermining profitability through high-risk orders and attempted theft
• Potential reseller fraud due to the popularity and resale value of Brew’s limited releases
• Chargeback exposure, especially from international orders
• Operational inefficiency driven by an exhausting manual review process

Pressure on customer experience, since, as Jonathan notes, “You can’t just simply reach out to a customer and accuse them of being fraudulent and you can’t simply just cancel an order without communicating.”

2. Manual Review Became Unsustainable

Before adopting a fraud solution, Brew managed fraud detection entirely in-house. Jonathan describes it as a constant “chess game” with increasingly clever fraudsters:

“At that time, we were simply manually checking, manually reaching out. The people are clever. And so this chess game of back and forth wasn’t working.”

Not only did this consume hours of the team’s time each week — it also risked harming the seamless customer experience Brew is known for. The company needed a way to stop fraud without slowing down legitimate customers or adding friction to the buying journey.

Results That Scale

“At the end of the day, as a brand owner and as a company, we want to spend that time wisely on growing the company, increasing sales, and making sure that customer experience stays seamless,” says Jonathan.

With NoFraud, Brew Watches transformed a growing fraud challenge into a strategic advantage. The brand now enjoys:

• Higher revenue
• Fewer chargebacks
• A fully automated fraud workflow
• More time to focus on product innovation and customer delight

Most importantly, Brew preserved the seamless, human-centered customer experience that has defined the brand since day one.

3.1% Revenue Lift Through Smarter Approvals

With NoFraud passing more legitimate orders that were previously at risk of being declined or manually canceled, Brew was able to approve more orders from loyal customers. NoFraud’s precise decisioning ensures that real customers experience smooth, uninterrupted checkouts, even during peak sales seasons.

77% Reduction in Chargebacks

Brew now has proactive fraud blocking that prevents high-risk orders from ever becoming chargebacks. With NoFraud proactively detecting and blocking fraudulent transactions, chargebacks have dropped by 77%, creating immediate savings and long-term operational relief.

100+ Hours Saved per Year

By eliminating manual review and the “chess game” Jonathan described, Brew recovers over 100 hours of operational time annually. That time is now reinvested into:

• Designing new watch collections
• Improving customer experience
• Growing sales and brand reach

Operational Challenges Before NoFraud

Before partnering with NoFraud, Monday Swimwear faced a growing list of operational inefficiencies that drained time and resources from its operations and customer support team.

1. Manual Chargeback Management

As Ahna recalls: “It was just me and one customer service representative trying to figure everything out. When a chargeback came in, we had to research what it even meant, how the process worked, and how to respond. There was so much Googling and guesswork.”

Without a dedicated fraud solution, the team manually gathered evidence, contacted banks, and tracked cases individually — often without understanding the nuances of each issuer’s process. This reactive approach left them exposed to financial losses and consumed valuable hours each week that they couldn’t afford to lose.

2. Returns Abuse, Unauthorized Resellers, and More: Evolving Threats and Limited Visibility

Fraudulent orders and returns abuse quickly became a recurring issue. The team found themselves investigating suspicious claims, manually reviewing transactions, and even chasing down fraudulent customers on social media. “We’d see customers wearing the swimsuits they claimed they never received,” Ahna shared. “But how do you even approach that conversation? It was frustrating and time-consuming.” 

As Monday Swimwear expanded, the lack of an automated fraud prevention system became an operational bottleneck, slowing fulfillment and adding unnecessary friction to the customer experience.

The rise of gift card fraud, returns abuse, and other sophisticated schemes introduced new challenges that were nearly impossible for a small team to keep up with. Without centralized reporting or analytics, Ahna’s team lacked visibility into fraud trends and couldn’t easily identify repeat offenders. “Every new fraud trend felt like a new fire drill. We were constantly reacting instead of preventing.”

A Multi-Year Commitment Driven by Measurable Results

Since partnering with NoFraud, Monday Swimwear has achieved measurable gains in efficiency and revenue protection. The impact was so significant that Monday Swimwear’s success with NoFraud led them to sign a multi-year renewal, solidifying NoFraud as a long-term operational partner.

This commitment underscores the brand’s trust in NoFraud’s ability to adapt in real time to new fraud tactics, keeping their business protected as threats evolve.

3.6% Revenue Lift Through Smarter Approvals

By confidently approving more legitimate transactions that might have previously been flagged or declined, Monday Swimwear unlocked new revenue opportunities without adding risk. NoFraud’s precise decisioning ensured that real customers experienced smooth, uninterrupted checkouts, even during peak sales seasons.

92% Reduction in Chargebacks

With NoFraud proactively detecting and blocking fraudulent transactions, chargebacks have dropped by 92%, creating immediate savings and long-term operational relief. The chargeback management service has not only reduced losses but also provided actionable insights to strengthen internal policies and improve prevention strategies.

224+ Hours Saved per Year

With NoFraud handling reviews and chargebacks, Ahna and her small team have reclaimed significant time each year that was previously spent chasing fraud evidence or responding to disputes. “It’s completely revolutionized how we spend our time,” Ahna said. “We’re no longer hunting down fake claims or trying to understand every bank’s system. We can finally focus on creating great products and serving our customers.”

The Solution