Chargeback reason: Fraudulent or Unrecognized

Shopify's help says a chargeback is marked Fraudulent when the cardholder did not authorize the charge, and Unrecognized when the cardholder does not recognize the merchant name or location on their statement.

Source: Shopify Help, read 4 October 2026: Reasons for a chargeback or inquiry and Responding to chargebacks and inquiries.

we are covered in fraudulent chargebacks with buyer not even having to return goods and banks approve the chargebacks

I had my first chargeback that was not related to an actual fraudulent transaction in over 10 years.

Whether the person who owns the card made, or agreed to, this purchase. It is not mainly about whether the goods arrived. In a real case from the Shopify Community forum, a merchant sent texts and a delivery photo against a Fraudulent dispute and lost, because delivery proof does not show that the cardholder authorized the payment.

• Try to contact the customer first. Shopify's help notes the customer may have forgotten the purchase, or a spouse, friend or family member may have made it.
• If the customer agrees the charge was justified, they should tell their bank they want to drop the chargeback. Still submit your evidence, including the statement where they said they would drop it.

Shopify's help lists these for this reason. Send what you actually have.

• The date and time the order was fulfilled
• The billing information the customer used
• The IP address and country used for the order
• Shipping and tracking information for the order
• For Unrecognized: what was bought, the name that appears on statements, and your contact with the customer

Also listed in Shopify's responding article

• AVS and CVV verification: the billing address and security code matched the card on file
• Device and IP data consistent with the customer's previous orders
• The 3D Secure authentication record, if the customer completed it
• Order history: previous successful orders from the same customer, email or shipping address
• Delivery confirmation to the customer's verified address
• Customer communications acknowledging the order, such as support inquiries about it

Our additions

• Look at the fraud analysis and payment details on the order page. Anything there that shows the real cardholder paid (for example address and security-code checks that matched, the extra bank check at payment known as 3D Secure, a phone or computer and country that fit the customer, earlier orders on the same card that were not disputed) belongs in the response, but only if your order page shows it.

Plain words: AVS and CVV (also called CVC) are two card checks at payment: the billing address and the 3-digit security code matched what the card's bank has. 3D Secure is an extra step where the customer proves it is them to their bank, for example with a code sent to their phone. An IP address is the internet address of the phone or computer used to order.

Plain text, because bank systems often strip formatting. Replace every [bracket] with a fact from your records, and delete any line you cannot back with a file.

Dispute response: order [order number], [amount and currency], reason: [Fraudulent or Unrecognized]

Summary
An order for [product names] totalling [amount] was placed on [date] and paid with the card ending [last four digits]. The order was fulfilled on [date and time] and shipped to [address on the order]. We ask that the dispute be decided in our favour.

Authorization (include only what your order page shows)
- Billing details entered at checkout: [name, address, email, phone] (Exhibit 1)
- IP address and country at checkout: [IP, country] (Exhibit 1)
- Card and address checks: [what the order page shows] (Exhibit 1)
- Earlier orders on this card that were not disputed: [dates and amounts] (Exhibit 2)

Delivery
- Shipped on [date] with [carrier], tracking [number], delivered on [date] to [address] (Exhibit 3)

Contact with the customer
- [Date]: [what was said, quoted briefly, and the channel] (Exhibit 4)
  [Delete this section if you have no record of any contact.]

Exhibits
1. Order page showing billing details, IP address and checks
2. Earlier order records
3. Tracking and delivery record
4. Customer messages

Never state anything you cannot prove. Every sentence in the response should point to a file you can attach. Delete any line you have no file for.

Where

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders and click the order that is being disputed.
2. In the chargeback banner, click Add evidence.
3. On the Chargeback response page, review the information about the chargeback, enter any additional information, and upload your items of evidence.
4. Click Save to save your progress. You can come back and edit until the due date.
5. To send it early: on the Chargeback response page click Submit now, then click Submit in the confirmation dialog. If you do not submit early, Shopify sends the evidence on the due date.

When

• The due date is 7 to 21 days after the chargeback or inquiry is filed. It shows in your store's timezone, and if no time is shown the deadline is 11:59 PM on that date.
• Shopify automatically collects evidence and sends it to the credit card company on the due date. Adding your own evidence can improve your chances.
• You can edit your evidence at any time before the due date. After you click Submit now you cannot edit it.
• After the due date you cannot submit further evidence. Shopify's help says there are no exceptions.
• The credit card company's review can take up to 75 days after you submit. After the bank or card company rules, Shopify's help says there is no appeal and the decision is final.
• You can also accept a chargeback without submitting evidence, with Accept chargeback in the chargeback banner.

Shopify's help says some details depend on the card-issuing bank and the card network, and that disputes from third-party payment providers such as PayPal Express Checkout may follow different processes and timelines. Use the due date shown on your own chargeback in the admin, not a number from any article.

File rules for your evidence

• Only PDF, JPEG or PNG files. PDFs must be PDF/A compliant, must not be PDF Portfolios, and must have fewer than 50 pages.
• Each file must not exceed 2 MB, and all your evidence files together must not exceed 4 MB.
• Submit only one file for each type of evidence. Combine several files into one image or PDF.
• Do not include audio or video files, links to external resources, or requests to call or email for more information.

Source: Shopify Help, read 4 October 2026. Managing chargebacks in the Shopify admin: "The due date varies from 7 to 21 days after the chargeback or inquiry is filed." and "After the submission deadline has passed, you can't submit any further evidence. There are no exceptions to this". Responding to chargebacks and inquiries: "Credit card company reviews: This can take up to 75 days after you submit."

• Sending only proof of delivery. It answers a different question from the one the bank is asking.
• Writing that the customer 'clearly authorized' the order when you only have a delivery record.
• Claiming a conversation took place by email or text when you only remember it. Attach it or leave it out.
• Missing the due date. Shopify sends the evidence it has on that date, and nothing can be added after it.

Shopify's help suggests capturing payments manually so you can see the full fraud analysis before you fulfil, and reviewing high-risk orders. It also says fulfilling high-risk orders can lead to more chargebacks, and that a high number of chargebacks can lead to payment processing being deactivated.

Is proof of delivery enough for a fraud dispute?

Not on its own. A Fraudulent dispute asks whether the cardholder authorized the payment, and a delivery record does not answer that. In a forum case, a merchant sent texts and a delivery photo and lost. Send what shows the real cardholder paid, then the delivery record as support.

Should I contact the customer before I respond?

Shopify's help says to try. Some customers forgot the purchase or a family member made it. If they agree, they need to ask their bank to drop the chargeback, and you should still submit your evidence with their statement.

What if the customer won't answer?

Respond with what you hold. Do not invent a conversation. A response built from the order page, billing details and tracking is better than one that claims more than you can show.

Can too many chargebacks get me removed from Shopify Payments?

Shopify's help says a high number of chargebacks can lead to payment processing being deactivated and removal from Shopify Payments. Merchants on the forum report payouts paused at chargeback rates below one percent, so watch your rate.

• Product not received: The customer told their bank they did not receive what they bought.
• Product unacceptable or not as described: The customer says what arrived was defective, damaged or not as you described it.
• Subscription canceled: The customer says you billed them for a subscription after it should have been canceled, or that they expected a reminder before the charge.
• Duplicate: The customer thinks you charged them twice for the same product or service.
• Credit not processed: The customer says they returned the product or canceled the order and never got their money back.

Send the dispute reason, the amount, the due date and the evidence you hold, with no card or customer data. We read what you send and reply with what looks strong, what is missing and whether accepting may cost less. Free, no call, no sign-up. We cannot promise a day, and nobody can promise how the bank will decide.

The email opens with the subject filled in, to kaiventura.founder@gmail.com.

Kai Ventura, Pro Skill Packs

The kit has six fill-in response letters for Word or Google Docs (one per reason), evidence checklists, worked examples and a one-page Start-here guide, plus an optional ready text for ChatGPT or a similar assistant that fills the letter in for you. If you use ChatGPT or a similar assistant, the ready text in the kit takes your dispute details and the proof you hold, and writes a letter matched to the reason your bank gave, a checklist of files to attach and a list of what you are missing. It never invents evidence and tells you when accepting may cost less.

Before: a merchant sent delivery photos against a fraud dispute and lost.
After: a verdict (weak, fight only if cheap), what the bank actually asks, and what to gather instead.

Free first: the Chargeback Evidence Checklist, or its ready text to paste into ChatGPT.

It is also one of the six helpers in the Store Ops Pack, $29.

This page is general information from Shopify's public help and our own checklists. It is not legal advice, and no response can promise how a bank will decide. Pro Skill Packs is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Shopify Inc. All chargeback reasons.