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How to stop fake COD orders on Shopify

By the COD Confirmation teamUpdated 4 min read

The most effective way to stop fake COD orders is to confirm every cash-on-delivery order before you ship it. Send the customer a WhatsApp message with the order details and Confirm and Cancel buttons, ship only the confirmed orders, and follow up on the rest. Add a few checks at checkout and a blocklist for repeat offenders, and most fake orders never leave your warehouse.

Key takeaways

  • Fake COD orders cost you outbound shipping, return shipping and stock that sits in transit.
  • Confirming every COD order before shipping filters out most of them.
  • Ship only orders marked as confirmed; review or call the ones with no reply.
  • Track refused orders by phone number and address so repeat offenders get caught.

Why fake COD orders happen

Cash on delivery removes the one thing that makes people think twice before ordering: paying. That’s why COD converts so well, and also why some orders are never meant to be collected. The usual causes are:

  • Impulse orders. The customer orders from an ad, then changes their mind before the courier arrives.
  • Wrong or incomplete details. A mistyped phone number or vague address means the courier can’t deliver.
  • Duplicate orders. The customer taps the order button twice, or orders again because they never got a confirmation.
  • Pranks and competitors. Someone places orders with fake names to waste your money.
  • Bots and spam. Automated submissions on unprotected COD forms.

Not every refused parcel comes from a bad actor. Many are real customers who simply weren’t reminded or weren’t sure the order went through. A quick confirmation solves both problems at once.

What fake COD orders really cost

A refused COD order is more expensive than a lost sale. Use this worksheet with your own numbers to see what you lose each month.

Cost item What it covers
Outbound shipping The original delivery attempt, paid even when the customer refuses.
Return-to-origin (RTO) fee Bringing the parcel back to your warehouse.
COD handling fee Some couriers charge it whether or not cash is collected.
Packaging and labour Packing, re-checking and restocking the returned item.
Damaged or unsellable stock Items that come back opened, broken or out of season.
Ad spend The cost of acquiring an order that never turned into revenue.

Multiply the total by the number of refused orders per month. For most COD stores this is the biggest leak in the business, and one of the easiest to fix. Our guide to reducing RTO walks through the full calculation.

Warning signs of a fake COD order

None of these prove an order is fake, but each one is a reason to confirm before shipping:

  • Invalid or short phone number. Numbers with the wrong length or country code for the shipping address.
  • Nonsense names or addresses. Random letters, “test”, or an address with no street or city.
  • Several orders in minutes. Duplicate orders from the same number, IP address or device.
  • Unusually large quantities. Ten units of a product people normally buy one of.
  • History of refusals. A phone number or address that refused a parcel before.

How to stop fake COD orders in 6 steps

  1. Confirm every COD order on WhatsApp. Send an automatic message as soon as the order is created, showing the order number, total to pay and address, with one-tap Confirm and Cancel buttons. This is the step that removes most fake orders.
  2. Ship only confirmed orders. Use the order tags created from replies to filter your fulfilment queue. Confirmed orders go out; cancelled ones are cancelled in Shopify before any shipping cost is spent.
  3. Follow up on orders with no reply. Give customers time to answer. If there’s still no reply, call high-value orders, or hold them until you hear back. Our COD confirmation call script helps here.
  4. Validate details at checkout. Require a valid phone number with the right country code and a complete address. Fewer typos means fewer undeliverable parcels.
  5. Protect your COD form from spam. Turn on bot protection and limit repeated orders from the same customer in a short time.
  6. Keep a blocklist of repeat offenders. Tag customers who refused a parcel. Review their next order or ask them to prepay a deposit.

Why WhatsApp works better than calls

Many stores still confirm COD orders by phone. It works, but it’s slow and expensive: agents spend their day dialling, customers miss calls from unknown numbers, and orders wait in the queue. A WhatsApp message reaches the customer in seconds, shows the full order in writing, and lets them confirm with a single tap whenever they see it. It also gives the customer a written record from your business, which builds trust before the courier arrives.

See the full breakdown in WhatsApp vs phone calls vs SMS for COD confirmation.

Setting it up on Shopify

You need three things:

  • A Shopify store with cash on delivery enabled.
  • A WhatsApp Business number connected to Meta’s official WhatsApp Business API.
  • A confirmation template approved by Meta. You can start from our WhatsApp COD confirmation templates in English, Arabic, French or Spanish.

Then follow the step-by-step Shopify COD confirmation guide.

Questions merchants ask

Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Email info@usewhapi.com.

What is a fake COD order?
A fake COD order is a cash-on-delivery order that will never be paid for: placed as a prank, with a wrong phone number or address, by a competitor, by bots, or by a customer who orders on impulse and refuses the parcel. Because nothing is paid upfront, the store only finds out at the doorstep.
Should I just turn off cash on delivery?
Usually not. In markets like Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan many shoppers only buy with COD, so turning it off can cut real sales by more than it saves. Confirming COD orders keeps the conversions and removes most of the bad orders.
How do I confirm COD orders automatically?
Use a Shopify app that sends a WhatsApp message to every new COD order with Confirm and Cancel buttons and tags the order from the reply. Choose one that uses the official WhatsApp Business API with your own number.
Can I block repeat fake orders from the same customer?
Yes. Keep a list of phone numbers and addresses with refused or cancelled COD orders, tag those customers in Shopify, and review their next order before shipping, or ask them to prepay. Shopify Flow or your COD form app can help automate these rules.

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