Fake orders: how to avoid falling into the trap of deception?

Glossary

• Fake orders: frivolous orders placed for the purpose of deception or sabotage, often using false data or non-existent contact.

• Competitive attack: manipulation of orders carried out by competitors in order to harm the business.

• Fraud from CPA networks or other advertising channels: creating false orders in order to obtain improper profits from advertising networks or other sources of income.

• Auto-fill data: use special software to automatically fill in order fields and make them visually real.

• Blackmail: Attempting to obtain improper benefits or profits by threatening to reveal negative information or use incriminating evidence.

• reCAPTCHA: a verification system developed by Google that requires users to complete certain tasks to prove that they are people are not bots.

• Order Process Changes: Changes to order processing systems and processes to improve filtering and reduce number of fake orders.

• Advertising Channel Tracking and Advertising Campaign Optimization: Monitor various advertising channels and analyze data to optimize campaigns and preventing the entry of fake orders.

Fake orders: an attack on business?

After studying mountains of literature, I learned what fake orders are - these are skillfully created traps to deceive entrepreneurs and freelancers! Their main goal is to receive free services, goods, or steal confidential information. False orders are also used to destabilize a business or promote competitors. For a more informed understanding of fraud schemes, I will give you typical scenarios of fake orders known to me. So, let's begin.

1. "Client" offers you a project with amazing conditions and promises a generous reward. He seduces you, lures you in, and then, when the job is completed, disappears without payment.
2. The “customer” asks you to provide your services for free in exchange for future cooperation or promises market fame and recognition. But once you've done your job, no one notices you anymore.
3. The “Buyer” places an order for your product or service and assures you that he will definitely pay for it upon delivery or completion. However, when you have already invested a lot of time and effort into fulfilling the order, you are informed that the “buyer” has changed his mind and refuses to purchase.

Now that you know about the typical fake order scenarios, let me tell you how to deal with them. First and most importantly, be extremely vigilant and trust your intuition! If something seems too good to be true, it is most likely a fake order. Carefully study the details and check all information about the client. For more reliable protection against fake orders, I recommend using the following proven practices, I will list them.

Check the source of client information

It is necessary to pay attention to the client’s contact information, his website, and reviews of other users. If something seems suspicious or inappropriate to you, it is better to refuse cooperation.

Request an advance payment before starting work

Prepayment is a sure sign of a successful conclusion of an agreement or transaction, it will also help you ensure the seriousness of the customer’s intentions and protect you from financial losses , in case of fraud.

Establish clear terms of cooperation and enter into written agreements

Well-executed documents will always come to your aid in the form of reliable legal protection and will clearly define the responsibilities of each party.

Feel free to discuss the project and terms with freelancers or entrepreneurs

The experience and knowledge of other entrepreneurs and freelancers can greatly help you in recognizing and identifying fake orders. Exchange of information about negligent clients, scammers and suspicious ordering schemes will only benefit you and your online business colleagues.

Be careful about your personal data and confidential information

At the end of this section, I would like to advise you to never disclose your personal data and confidential information unnecessarily, and Always use reliable protection for your data.

Don't let fake orders ruin your business and steal your precious time and resources! Be vigilant and your business and its prosperity will continue. Remember: fake orders are just a test on your path to success! The ability to recognize and prevent them is a skill that will make you more confident and successful in your business. Stay alert and don't be fooled by a smoothly executed fake order campaign!

Detailed case study

For better To understand the problem of fake orders, I will tell you a specific case. Imagine that a company experienced a strange increase in orders, but sales remained low. It was suspected that these might be fake orders, but there was not enough information to determine the source of the problem.

To find out what exactly is happening, our company decided to carefully monitor its advertising channels. As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that the majority of fake orders come from a certain advertising network that the company used to promote its products.

However, not all fake orders came from this network: through additional research, it was discovered that some of our competitors also abuse the order system to create negative impressions of our company and reduce its positive reputation.

To combat fake orders, the company used several methods. Firstly, I decided to make changes to the order processing process in order to significantly increase their filtering and weed out potentially fake ones.

Next, the company began using the reCAPTCHA system to verify the authenticity of all customers. This helped us significantly reduce the number of fake orders, since most automatic programs could not successfully pass this check.

Finally, the company constantly monitors its advertising channels and analyzes data to optimize campaigns and avoid fake orders. This includes monitoring performance indicators such as conversion and ROI, and taking action to improve results.

As a result of applying the above methods, our company was able to reduce the number of fake orders and improve the quality of its sales. The fight against fake orders was successful and helped strengthen the company’s reputation and protect its business from malicious attacks.

What are fake orders?

Welcome to the world of fake orders! I personally encountered this problem in my online store and today I want to tell you about this phenomenon and ways to prevent it. As they say, experience is the best teacher, and I am ready to share my knowledge and advice with you.

What are fake orders?

Fake orders are orders left by people in an online store without the intention of buying the selected product. Often these orders are created specifically for different purposes and in different ways. They may be created by scammers, competitors, or just pranksters. But regardless of the motivation, the result is the same - the system and rating of your online store suffer!

When there are too many fake orders and they are constantly repeated, this leads to delays in servicing real customers. In addition, managers spend a lot of time processing fake orders instead of dealing with real clients and cases.

Typical scenarios for fake orders

Fraudsters and pranksters are coming up with more and more new ways to make fake orders look different from fake ones. This can be either automated spam or manual data entry. They can use programs that imitate the actions of real users and bypass all security and verification systems.

For example, in 2019, Facebook filed a lawsuit against two app developers that simulated user clicks on ads on the platform. This gave the impression that users were actually interested in advertising. Thus, these developers earned money through fraudulent means. Following the lawsuit, Facebook returned funds to all affected advertisers.

How to deal with fake orders?

Through experience, I have developed several methods and techniques that help combat fake orders. I will give you some of them.

Checking contact details

When receiving a fake order, you must carefully check the customer's contact details. Often scammers or pranksters use fake or non-existent data, so pay attention to suspicious situations or moments.

Behavior Analysis

Use analytics tools to analyze user behavior on your site. If you notice that a particular IP address or user agent is making fake orders too often, you can take steps to block this behavior.

Captcha and other security measures

Enable the use of captcha or other means of verification to confirm that the order is made by a real person and not a bot or program.

Staff training

Train your managers to work with fake orders. Tell them in detail about typical scenarios and techniques, as well as how to distinguish a real order from a fake one.

Personalized approach

Try to establish personal contact with real clients. Fake orders may have standard or unrealistic data, so if you establish a personal connection with the client, you can immediately notice suspicious points.

Having said all this, I am sure that the suggested methods will help you fight against fake orders. Also note that the experiments have shown the high efficiency of these methods, however, each online store is unique in its own way and requires an individual approach. I recommend that you constantly analyze your situation and take appropriate measures to protect your business from fake orders.

And remember: the best way to prevent fake orders is to constantly improve your security system and always be vigilant. Be careful, trust your intuition and don’t let scammers and pranksters harm your business!

"Whenever I encounter fake orders, I use proven methods and it always gives extremely positive results!" - Alexey Kravets, Internet owner -store, Ukraine

🔥 Review: useful methods of combating fake orders!

Be careful and follow my best practices to save your business and fight fake orders!

I offer you an interesting article on the topic: How to manage the reputation of an online store? 💥

Conclusion: Establish a personal connection with the client!

To summarize, I shared with you my personal knowledge and experience in combating fake orders. I hope this information will be useful for online store owners, freelancers and marketers. Be vigilant, educate yourself, and implement best practices to protect your business from fake orders. I wish you success and all the best!

How to recognize and prevent a competitor's attack?

While working on my online store, I encountered one very unpleasant situation: an attack from competitors. Moreover, I did not immediately understand what was happening. But then I noticed an abnormal number of applications with atypical orders and changes in user behavior according to Google Analytics.

This was the first signal that something was wrong! I decided to take a closer look at e-commerce metrics to understand where users were coming from when they left false orders. And this is what I discovered: the attack on my online store was aimed at disrupting its operation! The goal of my competitors is to kill my managers’ time with calls, cancel orders and delete data from CRM. As a result, my store's reputation began to suffer serious problems, and the quality of service to real customers began to suffer. But that is not all. The scammers also purchased bots, which pretended to be real users and spoiled the behavioral indicators of my store, which negatively affected its ranking in search engines, including Google.

Of course, I decided to fight this problem and developed my own effective counteraction strategy. Here are some useful tips that I want to share with you.

Monitor user behavior and alert about suspicious orders

If you notice an unusual number of requests with atypical orders, this may be a sign that you are the victim of an attack competitors. Additionally, changes in user behavior reflected in Google Analytics could be another sign of an attack.

I recommend tracking e-commerce metrics to determine which channels are coming from users leaving false orders. This will help you separate the real customers from the scammers and take action accordingly.

Pay attention to the quality of traffic from CPA networks and affiliate programs

If you use CPA networks or other advertising channels, there is a risk of receiving low-quality traffic and fake orders. It is important to closely monitor the performance of these advertising campaigns and analyze which channels generate the most false orders.

Be especially vigilant if you work with affiliate networks or agencies, as these may be sources of low-quality traffic. I recommend regularly analyzing the data and taking measures to minimize the number of fake orders!

Beware of auto-filling data in application forms

One of the clever ways scammers use auto-filling data in application forms. This is especially true for social media advertising campaigns, where questions with pre-populated answers can be added to instant application forms.

Many users may accidentally submit a request without realizing that they have already left their information somewhere. If filled in automatically, this data may result in false orders. Therefore, I recommend that you closely monitor such requests and take appropriate response measures.

Be careful about possible cases of blackmail!

One of the most unpleasant forms of attack from competitors is blackmail. In this case, scammers can leave you a large number of false orders, loading the online store with stupid work. They may then offer to stop the scam for a certain amount.

You may be tempted to pay to avoid problems and further attacks. However, I advise you absolutely not to take this step! By paying blackmailers, you only strengthen their position and encourage new attacks. Better report this to the police and improve the security of your store.

🔥 Review of the results of my experience in combating competitor attacks:

Conclusions: protect your online store from attacks and competitors!

It seems to me that these recommendations will help you prevent attacks from competitors and protect your online store from fake orders. Remember to remain vigilant and closely monitor changes in your business activities.

💥 Important! In some cases, I recommend seeking additional help from experts. A CRM system can help you manage your customer data and track the automatic completion of fields on application forms.

Now, having personal experience and knowledge, you can successfully combat attacks from competitors and prevent fake orders in your online store. Don't forget my recommendations!

How did I recognize and deal with fake orders?

In my activities as an online store owner, I encountered the problem of fake orders. This was quite unpleasant and costly for my then small business. I decided to figure out what it is and how to deal with them. In this section, I will share my life experience and tell you about ways that have helped me personally, and therefore I recommend it to you too!

One of the main signs of fake orders is their large number, which appears in a certain period of time. I had a situation where my orders suddenly increased overnight even though I had no active marketing campaigns. This was unusual and immediately aroused my suspicions!

Another sign is a chaotic set of numbers in the phone number field or random characters instead of personal data. When I found this information in the orders, I realized that these could not possibly be real customers.

I also paid attention to the same type of user actions from the same traffic channel. This meant that all of these orders could be created by the same person, likely for the purpose of fraud.

You may have encountered a similar situation where your orders are consecutive and all the details are filled out correctly, but upon confirmation the customer says that he never submitted an order and has not heard of your store. I encountered this situation several times, and each time it only confirmed that these were fake orders.

It often happens that I receive many unconfirmed applications where the client cannot be contacted at all or the phone number turns out to be invalid. This is a clear sign that this is a fake!

Now let's discuss some of the methods and strategies I have used to combat fake orders.

Use additional verification tools

When I realized that I was facing a problem with fake orders, I decided to use additional tools to verify clients' personal data. This helped me weed out most of the fake orders.

I have added an additional field to verify your phone number or email. Everyone who placed an order had to confirm their contact details so that I could be sure of their accuracy.

I also used an anti-bot protection system that helped me determine whether the visitor was a real person or an automated script. This allowed me to immediately weed out most of the fake orders.

Make the ordering process more complicated

Another way to combat fakes was to make the ordering process more complicated. I decided to add additional steps and checks that fakes will not be able to pass.

For example, I added an additional order confirmation step where the customer had to enter an additional code or answer questions to confirm their identity. This helped ensure that the order was made by a real person.

I also created an IP address inspection system to monitor suspicious activity. If the IP address was already associated with fake orders, the system blocked the ability to place a new order.

Conclusions: fight fake orders!

Recognizing and combating fake orders is an important task for online store owners. I am confident that the methods and techniques I have described will help you deal with this problem.

Use additional verification tools and make the ordering process more complex to weed out fake orders. Remember to also update your security systems and be vigilant.

I hope that my experience and recommendations will be useful to you. If you have questions or would like to share your experience, please leave a comment below.

💥 ELBUZ comment: "Apply the specified methods and protect your business from fake orders. Don’t let scammers the slightest chance!"

Assessing the effectiveness of control methods fake orders

There are many different methods on the Internet to combat fake orders, which can cause considerable harm to your online store. Some of them offer insufficient protection and may even increase your costs. In this section, I will talk about the most common methods of combating fake orders and describe their effectiveness based on my own life experience.

CAPTCHA check

One of the most common methods of protection against fake orders, in my opinion, is CAPTCHA check. It is used to detect bots that may place fake orders. Here I will clarify one very important detail: CAPTCHA does not protect against real people who deliberately leave fake orders, and scammers can easily bypass this check.

Even though CAPTCHA is a minimum level of security, it is still recommended as an additional layer of security. It can be useful for preventing mass automated attacks and providing a basic level of security for your online store.

Verification via SMS

Another common, but not very effective method of checking for fake orders is the use of SMS messages. This type of verification involves sending a special code to the customer’s mobile phone to confirm its reality. Although this may seem like a good idea, in my opinion this method not only does not protect you from fake orders from real people, but can also significantly increase your costs.

You will have to pay for verification messages, do not forget this, and the more fake orders there are, the more money you will waste! In addition, creators of fake orders can easily pass this verification using various methods, such as using virtual numbers or special services to receive SMS.

Complex registration forms

Using complex registration forms with a large number of fields that need to be filled out , may be one of the methods to prevent fake orders. This approach may scare real customers and discourage them from making purchases, but for those who leave fake orders, this will not be a problem.

Using complex registration forms can only be useful if you provide valuable goods or services that require additional information. Real customers will be ready to fill out all the required fields in the form, and fake orders will probably bypass your online store.

Ban by IP or User Agent

Another method of combating fake orders is to block certain IP addresses or User Agent. For the first time this may seem like an effective solution, but it turns out that for real attackers this will not be a problem or barrier.

The IP address can be easily changed using a VPN or by connecting to the mobile Internet, which assigns a new IP with each new use. An IP ban can lead to blocking all users from that provider, which may be an unjustified measure.

I also want to remind you that a User Agent ban will not work if users easily change the User Agent in their browser or use special programs to change the User Agent.

Choose an effective method of combating fake orders

When choosing methods of combating fake orders, you must take into account their effectiveness and potential limitations. Let's look at the main most common methods.

CAPTCHA verification

CAPTCHA verification is a basic level of protection, but does not provide sufficient protection against actual scammers.

Verification via SMS

Not an effective method that can increase costs and will not protect against fake orders.

Complex registration forms

Forms can be useful for some categories of products or services, but they can also turn off real customers.

Ban by IP or User Agent

Ineffective methods that attackers can easily bypass.

The best approach to combating fake orders, in my opinion, can only be the integrated use of several methods, including CAPTCHA, data analysis and a fake order monitoring system. Don't forget about potential restrictions and consider the specifics of your online store!

Conclusions: use all methods in combination against fake orders!

Fake orders are a serious problem for online stores. To combat them, choose reliable, proven and effective strategies, and consider the potential limitations of each method. In this section, I told you in detail how you can protect your online store from fake orders and ensure the safety and comfort of your customers.

ELBUZ: How do I deal with fake orders?

In the process of work, our company ELBUZ was faced with the problem of fake orders for the creation of online stores. We began to receive a large number of fake applications, the customers were either not real people, or they were managed by other people. Such orders began to come to us more often from the social network Facebook.

Someone was paying people to click on ads, fill out forms on the site, and even confirm applications. And all these fake orders went through our automated checks, including captchas and confirmations. There were even cases when our managers received calls from fake customers! We spent a long time figuring out who makes such orders and why, and wondered whether our competitors order such requests, or is this one of the strategies of Facebook partners to improve the quality of traffic?

After some time, we realized that it was useless to understand such situations. If a person submits a fake application for a reward, he will find any way to bypass any checks. Finding out their motives and goals was difficult and ineffective.

So, rather than continue to increase checks and make the process more difficult for real customers, we decided to rebuild our entire order processing processes. We have developed clear criteria for our managers to recognize fake orders and not waste time and resources on them.

In addition, the company began experimenting with different advertising channels and targeting. ELBUZ began to exclude from advertising campaigns precisely those channels that brought too many fake orders. This significantly helped reduce the number of unwanted requests and improved the quality of traffic.

The experience I gained in the fight against fake orders allowed me to more accurately build advertising processes and strategies in the future. Through our joint efforts, we conducted an in-depth study of the data, investigated the behavior of fake customers, and based on the results, optimized the advertising campaign.

As a result, our company achieved positive results. We have reduced the number of fake orders and focused all our efforts on attracting real customers. This experience also allowed me to develop myself, apply previously unpopular methods and strategies, and improve my own processes and achieve more meaningful results!

Developing a strategy to combat fake orders:

• Define clear criteria recognition of fake orders.
• Experiment with different advertising channels and exclude those that lead to a large number of fake orders.
• Conduct in-depth data analysis and optimize advertising campaigns.
• Implement order processes that effectively identify and track fake orders.
• Study the behavior of fake customers and use this information to improve processes.

🔥 Best practices for combating fake orders:

• Regularly update the criteria for recognizing fake orders based on data analysis.
• Carefully study the results of advertising campaigns and quickly respond to changes in the situation.
• Train and maintain the knowledge of your employees in the field of recognizing and combating fake orders.
• Continuously improve order processing processes and respond to new methods of fake customers.

The starting point in the fight against fake orders is a deep analysis of data, processes and advertising campaigns. Being in a responsible and reliable company, I am confident that our solution will help you minimize fake orders and attract even more real customers!

"There is no point in worrying and wasting time analyzing the identification of fake orders! It is better to focus on optimizing your own processes and various advertising channels." - Roman Sukhno, ELBUZ expert, Ukraine

How to deal with fake orders?

In the process of running an online business, every store owner faces the problem of fake orders. These are orders that at first glance appear to be genuine, but later turn out to be fraudulent. This can seriously harm your business, leading to additional costs and wasted time.

As an online store owner, I had experience with fake orders and learned effective ways to deal with them. In this section, I will share my knowledge and tell you how to avoid fake orders and minimize losses.

reCAPTCHA - effective protection against bots

One way to combat fake orders is to use the reCAPTCHA system from Google. It helps track user activity and separate bots from real people. Users are not required to complete a captcha most of the time, but reCAPTCHA is activated when suspicious activity is detected.

Personally, I have integrated reCAPTCHA into my online store. This helps to catch scammers even at the stage of registration or placing an order. For your convenience, instructions for setting up reCAPTCHA for your online store can be found on the official Google website.

Changing order processing processes

Another effective way to combat fake orders is to optimize order processing processes. The first step was to determine the criteria by which you can immediately determine whether a given order could be fake, and stopped wasting time on processing it.

The CRM system turned out to be an indispensable tool in this process. It displays all the data about incoming orders and allows you to see the real data about potential customers. The more information you have about the customer at the time of order processing, the easier it is to distinguish a fake order from a real one.

Also, I used additional verification methods, such as communication via Telegram or Viber, to clarify the order details in correspondence. Also, the Getcontact program helped to install additional verification of phone numbers.

Tracking advertising channels and optimizing advertising campaigns

Often, fake orders come from specific advertising campaigns . Constant monitoring of indicators in advertising accounts and Google Analytics allows you to calculate which campaigns bring low-quality traffic with fake orders.

If you notice a problem, then the advertising campaign should be reconfigured or disabled. For example, if you notice suspicious activity after running an ad on Facebook, you can turn off ads on desktop devices or experiment with campaign goals.

🔥 Review of best practices

Let's briefly look at the main recommendations for combating fake orders:

• Use Google's reCAPTCHA system to track user activity and separate bots from real customers.
• Optimize order processing processes and implement a CRM system to collect and analyze customer data.
• Check phone numbers and clarify order details via Telegram, Viber or the Getcontact program.
• Constantly monitor the performance of your advertising campaigns and optimize them by disabling or reconfiguring those that bring fake traffic.

Conclusions: create effective protection against fake orders!

Remember that the fight against fake orders requires constant caution and attention. Be vigilant and respond to suspicious signals! The purpose of this section is to share my experience and knowledge to help you fight against fake orders in your online store. I hope that my tips and recommendations will be useful for your business. If you have questions or want to share your experience with us, feel free to leave a comment below, I will be happy to answer all your queries and suggestions!

Expertise of the Bershka company

Description of the client, his business and goals

The Bershka company is a well-known global brand specializing in fashionable clothing and accessories for youth. They offer a wide range of stylish and modern products that suit the tastes of their target audience.

Bershka's main goals were to increase sales and improve customer interaction. They sought to create a positive image and strengthen their position in the youth fashion market. To achieve these goals, it was necessary to overcome the obstacle associated with fake orders.

Identifying the main problem

One of the main problems that Bershka faced was the constant appearance of fake orders. Fake orders are orders created with the intent to defraud or knowingly intend to cause harm to the company.

Characteristics and interests of the target audience

The target audience of "Bershka" are young people aged 18 to 25 who want to look stylish and fashionable. They pay attention to current fashion trends and accessories that can highlight their individuality. They are interested in quality products at an affordable price.

Key points that can interest potential clients

• Wide range of fashionable clothing and accessories
• Relevance and compliance with the latest fashion trends
• Reasonable price and availability of goods
• Quality and stylish product design

Facts, figures and results of the project💥

To combat fake orders, Bershka has taken a number of measures:

1. Implementation of the reCAPTCHA system to protect against automatic data filling and bots.
2. Changes to order processing processes to more thoroughly verify information and identify fraudsters.
3. Monitoring advertising channels and optimizing advertising campaigns to reduce the likelihood of receiving fake orders.

These measures led to a noticeable improvement in the situation. Over the past year, the number of fake orders has decreased by 80%, which has led to increased operational efficiency and increased sales for Bershka.

🔥 Overview table:

Thanks to the implementation of the reCAPTCHA system, changes in order processing processes and optimization of advertising campaigns, Bershka was able to successfully combat fake orders and achieve significant growth in its business activities.

🔥 Frequently asked questions on the topic: "Fake orders. What is it and how to deal with them?"

Thank you for your attention!💥

Here you learned to recognize and prevent fake orders, becoming a true professional in this field. Now you have invaluable knowledge that will help you protect your business from scammers.👥

Don't forget that fake orders are a problem that many entrepreneurs face. But with the help of the methods and tips described in the article, you can be sure that your online store will be protected from such unwanted orders.

If you have any other questions or comments, please leave them below. I will be happy to answer all your requests! 🔥👌