How Everlane Reduced Return Fraud and Bad Actors With Yofi

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 order 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 processed before problems were discovered. Money could go out long before anyone realized a return never arrived or was otherwise abusive. That put the team in a reactive position, trying to claw back losses after the fact.

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 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 fraudulent 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.

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.