October 29, 2025

Return Abuse Trends - 2025

Download the infographic highlighting key 2025 return-abuse trends from Pinch AI’s retail data, showing the widening gap between fraud and loyalty in e-commerce returns.

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Return Abuse Trends - 2025
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Podcast
Ep 5: Michael Vergara
April 18, 2026

Ep 5: Michael Vergara

When is fraud really abuse, and when is abuse just a customer taking advantage of a policy you left open? In our latest In a Pinch episode, Mike Vergara (veteran risk leader across RSA, PayPal, Blackhawk, and now Trustly) makes the case for a product-first approach to risk, unpacks the rise of first-party abuse, and shares the origin story of "human-in-the-loop" at PayPal a decade before the term existed. A must-listen for anyone building in fraud, risk, product, or fintech.

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Podcast
Ep 4: Philipp Barthold
April 18, 2026

Ep 4: Philipp Barthold

We sit down with Philipp, CTO of Lux Experience — the parent company behind iconic luxury fashion retailers Mytheresa, Net-a-Porter, and Mr. Porter. Philipp shares his journey from building neural networks for payment fraud detection in 2004 to running technology for one of the world's largest luxury e-commerce operations. The conversation dives deep into the unique fraud challenges of high-end retail (including a wild fake FedEx truck heist).

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Podcast
Ep 3: Tushar Shah
March 30, 2026

Ep 3: Tushar Shah

What does human-led AI actually mean in practice? In our latest In a Pinch episode, Tushar Shah, CPO of Uniphore, breaks down why humans must set the goals, values, and guardrails for AI - and what's at stake when they don't. From fraud detection to agentic commerce, a conversation packed with hard-won insight from PayPal to Silicon Valley.

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Engineering
Pandas to DuckDB: A Lightweight Switch That Took Our Feature Runs From Hours to Minutes
March 30, 2026

Pandas to DuckDB: A Lightweight Switch That Took Our Feature Runs From Hours to Minutes

From 5–6 hour Pandas runs to under 10 minutes in DuckDB - without heavy infra. Notes from the trenches.

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Podcast
Ep 2: Corin Dennison
February 19, 2026

Ep 2: Corin Dennison

In this conversation, Corin shares his extensive background in law enforcement and how it shaped his transition into corporate investigations, particularly in the retail sector. He discusses the challenges of navigating retail security, the differences between organized retail crime and opportunism, and the importance of data and technology in loss prevention. Corin emphasizes the need for retailers to record crime effectively and the role of AI in shaping the future of retail security.

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Podcast
Ep 1: Hui Wang, Bingjie Bai
March 12, 2026

Ep 1: Hui Wang, Bingjie Bai

The conversation delves into the origin stories of fraud industry leaders Hui Wang and Bingjie Bai, highlighting their experiences and the evolution of the industry. It also explores the challenges and nuances of detecting first-party fraud, shedding light on the complexities and unique aspects of this type of fraud.

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Brief
Inside Return Abuse: How Shoppers are Gaming the System
February 12, 2026

Inside Return Abuse: How Shoppers are Gaming the System

Return abuse is costing retailers billions, yet most shoppers have no idea it’s happening. In this video, we dive into the growing crisis of return fraud and abuse, breaking down just how massive the problem really is, and the various methods bad actors use to exploit return policies.

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Case Study
How a Leading Fashion Retailer Used Pinch AI to Reduce Return Fraud and Increase Profitability
October 29, 2025

How a Leading Fashion Retailer Used Pinch AI to Reduce Return Fraud and Increase Profitability

A top fashion retailer slashed return fraud by 50% and saved $230K+ annually using Pinch AI’s fraud detection and automation. By optimizing return workflows, reducing coupon abuse, and enhancing VIP customer experiences, the retailer improved efficiency and boosted customer retention by 20%.

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Brief
Guide: Understanding E-commerce Return Abuse
March 18, 2025

Guide: Understanding E-commerce Return Abuse

This comprehensive guide provides an in-depth look at the various types of return abuse in e-commerce, their impact on businesses, and effective strategies for prevention. Learn how to identify and address fraudulent return activities to protect your bottom line and maintain customer satisfaction.

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