$103B
US retail loss to fraudulent and abusive returns and claims in 2024
Appriss Retail / Deloitte returns research
Guide
Empty box returns
Stop empty box returns before you refund the air
Empty box returns keep the product and send back paper, bricks, or an empty carton. Pickup agents rarely open sealed parcels. If you refund on status codes, you fund the scam.
What are empty box returns?
Empty box return fraud (also called brick fraud or short-shipping a return) is when the inbound parcel does not contain the purchased goods. Fillers may include newspaper, stones, or unrelated junk sized to feel “about right.”
Warehouses often discover it days after pickup, sometimes after store credit or a refund already cleared. Recovery then depends on policy language and evidence you may not have saved.
This pattern is a core theme in Vefri’s positioning because courier POD and RMA status cannot see inside the carton. Only product-level video can.
- Light cartons packed with paper
- Weighted bricks that pass a casual lift test
- Old cartons relabelled with your waybill
- Multi-item orders missing the expensive line while cheap lines return
Industry context
Numbers ops teams actually feel
These are attributed industry figures from retail returns research and common ops ranges, not Vefri case studies. Use them to size the problem for your catalogue and AOV.
Late find
Empty boxes are often found after refund automation has already run
Common D2C ops timing failure
POD gap
Delivery scans confirm handoff, not contents
Logistics product design
Video pair
Delivery + return footage collapses empty-box disputes fastest
Evidence-led QC practice
How brands detect empty box returns
Detect early enough that money has not left. That is the whole game.
Pre-pickup video
Require a clip that shows the product inside the return pack before the courier takes it.
Delivery baseline
If delivery unboxing showed the real SKU, an empty return is indefensible.
Inbound weigh + open SLA
High-AOV categories get open-before-refund rules, not open-whenever-we-get-to-it.
Serial empty-box accounts
Same addresses or phones repeating sealed empty returns deserve mandatory dual evidence forever after.
Why traditional return policies fail on empty boxes
Policies that refund on “return initiated” or “picked up” assume contents. Empty-box fraud is designed for that assumption.
Asking pickup agents to open every parcel does not scale and creates custody fights. Brand-owned customer video is cleaner: the customer shows the product, then seals the pack on camera if you require it.
Restocking fees do not stop empty boxes. Evidence gates do.
- Never auto-refund sealed high-AOV returns without open or video
- State evidence requirements in the public return policy
- Separate courier success from refund success in your SOP
Delivery vs return comparison for empty boxes
Two clips. One decision. No drama.
Step 1
Film what arrived
Delivery capture shows the real product with the customer.
Step 2
Film what goes back
Return capture must show the product in frame, not only a closed carton.
Step 3
Hold the payout
Refund waits until QC confirms contents for covered orders.
Step 4
Reject with record
If return video shows empty fill, decline and keep both clips on the order.
Vefri workflow for empty box returns
Vefri is built for this exact dispute. Capture at delivery. Capture at return. Side-by-side review. Your team decides. Couriers do not need a custom app.
How video evidence works on empty-box claims
The return script should force the product into view: “Show the item, then show it going into the carton.” A video of a sealed mystery box is not evidence.
Pair that with delivery unboxing and you remove the “maybe you never shipped it” counter-argument that empty-box fraudsters love.
Empty box vs item switching
Empty box returns little or nothing. Item switching returns a wrong something. Both need identity-aware video. Empty box usually needs an even stricter “show the product before seal” rule.
Ops metrics that matter
Track empty-box find rate, refund-before-open count, and average hours from pickup to open on high-AOV SKUs. If refunds beat opens, your policy is funding fraud.
Size the leak with the return fraud cost calculator or the ROI calculator.
FAQ
Common questions
It is returning a parcel without the purchased product inside, often packed with paper or weighted junk, while keeping the real item and requesting a refund.
Get started
Stop refunding empty boxes
Put delivery and return video on your next high-AOV order today.