Generative AI is democratizing e-commerce fraud, with scammers increasingly using AI-generated images to secure refunds for items they never return. According to Wired, online shopping platforms—which have long relied on customer-submitted photos to validate refund requests—are struggling to distinguish between real and fabricated damage claims.
The issue has become particularly acute on Chinese social media platforms like RedNote and Douyin. Wired highlights a recent case involving a crab merchant named Gao Jing, who received a refund claim accompanied by a video of “dead” crabs. The fraud was exposed when the seller noticed biological inconsistencies in the footage: the crabs had the wrong number of legs, and the sex of the crabs changed between clips. Police investigation confirmed the video was AI-generated, leading to the buyer’s detention.
The problem extends beyond individual scammers. Michael Reitblat, CEO of fraud detection firm Forter, told Wired that AI-doctored refund claims have increased by more than 15% globally since the start of the year. Organized crime groups are reportedly using these tools to automate fraud at scale, utilizing rotating IP addresses to flood retailers with fake claims for “damaged” home goods. While some merchants are deploying their own AI tools to detect doctored images, the technology remains imperfect, forcing retailers to consider stricter return policies that could inconvenience honest shoppers.
In a lighter development from the same report, Wired notes the viral success of “Yichang Beer.” Despite its branding featuring Chinese characters and dragon imagery, the beer is actually brewed in Kazakhstan and was originally sold in Russian-speaking markets. The product’s label claims it has been brewed since 1858—decades before beer was introduced to China. Ironically, after going viral on Chinese social media for its “fake” heritage, the beer is now being imported and sold in the actual city of Yichang.
