Cash on delivery fake orders: how to stop them

The basics of COD returns, the confirmation call and the messages to send are in other guides, linked below. This one is only about orders that were never real: how to spot them, how to keep them from costing you twice, and what to do when one gets through.

Fake, prank or cold feet: three different problems

A refused parcel can come from three kinds of order, and each needs a different response.

• A fake order. Someone types a made-up name, half an address and a number that will not answer. Nobody was ever going to pay. The fix is to catch it before you book.
• A prank order. Someone puts a real person’s name and number on an order to bother them. The person who picks up your call is real, polite and confused, because they never ordered. Do not blocklist them as a refuser. Note the number as “did not order” and cancel.
• Cold feet. A real buyer ordered, then changed their mind. That is a confirmation and expectations problem, covered in how to reduce COD returns.

Mixing these up costs you. Treat a prank victim like a fraudster and you insult someone who did nothing. Treat a fake order like cold feet and you book it, hoping.

Signs of a fake order, and what to do about each

Read every new order before you pick up the phone. One sign alone does not make an order fake. It decides how hard you confirm and whether you ask for money first.

The full list of everyday warning signs, like test names and “near masjid” addresses, is in our COD returns guide. The table above is about the action, so the decision takes seconds per order.

Confirm in a way a prankster cannot pass

A “YES” on WhatsApp from any number is easy to fake. A short call is harder. The WhatsApp order confirmation templates cover the messages; for orders that hit a sign in the table, add these on the call:

• Ask, do not read out. Instead of “Your address is House 12, Street 4, right?”, ask “Where should the rider come, and what is near your house?” Someone who made the address up hesitates. A real buyer answers without thinking.
• Ask what they ordered. “Which suit was it, and which size?” A prank victim will say they ordered nothing. A real buyer remembers.
• Say the total at the door. A buyer who goes quiet at the amount is a buyer who would have gone quiet at the door.
• Ask for a second number. Real buyers have a family member’s or an office number. Note it on the order.

If the order came through a chat, the WhatsApp order link generator makes a link whose message asks for the full address and landmark up front, so you start with more to check.

When fake orders come in a wave

Sometimes a batch of junk orders lands together: a run of orders in one evening, from numbers that never answer, to the same area or for the same product.

• Do not book any of them in bulk. Confirm each one the same way as a single order.
• Look at what they share: the product, the area, the time, the ad that brought them. If one ad keeps bringing orders that never answer, pause that ad.
• Add every number and address that turned out fake to your blocklist that day.
• Cancel the ones you could not confirm after a day. Holding an unconfirmed order costs nothing. Booking it costs a courier trip.

Keep your own blocklist of numbers and addresses

Storelala has no built-in blocklist or fraud score. Your own list knows your history with a buyer, and nothing else does. A spreadsheet on your phone is enough. Check it before you book every parcel, not after.

One row per bad order, with these columns:

• Phone number, written one way: 03001234567. Turn +92 300, 0092 300 and 300 into 0300.
• Second number, if they gave one.
• Address in parts: house, street, area, city. Matching on area and street catches a refuser who switched SIMs.
• Name used on the order.
• Date, your order number, courier and tracking number.
• What happened: refused at door, fake details, prank (did not order), unreachable.
• Your decision: advance only, do not ship, or cleared.

On Storelala, the courier and tracking number sit on each order, so you can copy them into the sheet without digging for them.

Rules that keep the list fair:

• Read the courier’s reason before you add anyone. “Refused” is the buyer. “Address not found” or “consignee not available” may be the rider or the address. Call first.
• Keep prank victims in their own category. If the same real person keeps getting prank orders, it is their number being used, not them ordering.
• Keep the list to yourself and your staff. Posting a buyer’s number in a seller group can name the wrong person, and a prank victim’s number looks exactly like a fraudster’s.
• Give a cleared status a chance. Someone who refused once and then paid an advance on the next order can move to “cleared”.

Partial advance or delivery fee advance on risky orders

Keep cash on delivery as the default. It is how a buyer trusts a shop they have never tried. Ask for money first only when an order hits a rule you set in advance, so the decision is not a mood:

• Delivery charge in advance when the number or address is on your list, or the order could only be half confirmed. If the parcel comes back, your forward trip is paid for.
• Part of the price in advance on expensive items or a large first order, where one refusal wipes out the profit on several sales.
• Full advance on made-to-order pieces you cannot resell.

Buyers can pay at Storelala checkout by cash on delivery, JazzCash, Easypaisa or card. For an advance on a risky order, the buyer sends it by bank transfer, JazzCash or Easypaisa to your account, and you record the transaction ID on the order. Three habits stop this from going wrong:

• Check your bank app, not the screenshot. Book the parcel only when the money shows in your own account.
• Lower the COD amount on the booking. When you book the parcel, set the amount the rider collects to the total minus the advance. Otherwise the buyer is asked to pay twice and refuses.
• Write the rule down. The store policy generator adds advance payment above an amount you choose, and advance after a refused parcel, to your shipping policy, so you can point to it when a buyer asks why.

A buyer who was never going to accept the parcel goes quiet when asked for the delivery charge up front. That silence is the cheapest result you can get.

What to do after a refusal

1. Read the reason in tracking. Refused, not available, wrong address and incomplete address are different stories.
2. Contact the buyer the same day. One call or message: what happened? The wording is in the order confirmation templates.
3. If the buyer says nobody came, raise it with the courier with the tracking number and ask for a reattempt before the parcel heads back.
4. When the parcel arrives back, open it the same day. Check the item and the seal, and photograph anything wrong before you raise it with the courier.
5. Add the row to your blocklist with the courier’s reason and your decision.
6. Count what it cost. The forward charge, the return charge if your courier takes one, packaging, and the ad money that brought the order.

Return charges differ by courier, and not every courier publishes them. Leopards says its Retail COD has no return fees, as of October 2026. For any other courier, the return charge varies by account, so check your own rate card or agreement, or ask the courier in writing. Our courier comparison lists what each one publishes, and the COD profit calculator shows what your refusals do to profit per order.

Harassment and fraud: where to report

A fake order on its own is not a case to report. You did not book it, or it came back, and the blocklist handles the rest. Reporting is for things that go further: threats or abuse over calls and messages, someone using your brand name and photos to take advance payments from your buyers, or repeated harassment from one number.

Cybercrime complaints in Pakistan now go to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). When we checked in October 2026, the FIA’s old cybercrime address, nr3c.gov.pk, redirected to the NCCIA website, and the crime list on the FIA’s own complaint portal had no cybercrime option. The NCCIA site shows a browser check before it loads, so open it on your phone rather than following a link someone sends you. Its earlier page gave helpline 1799 for cybercrime complaints.

Before you file, collect:

• Screenshots of the messages showing the number, date and time.
• Call logs, and voice notes if there are any.
• The order record: name, number, address, courier and tracking number.
• For a fake page using your brand, its link and screenshots, and messages from buyers who paid it.

Questions sellers ask

How do I stop fake orders on cash on delivery?

Do not book a parcel until a person has confirmed the order on a call, in their own words. Check every new order against your own list of numbers and addresses that refused before, and ask for the delivery charge or part of the price in advance on orders that look risky or cost a lot.

How can I tell if a COD order is fake?

Look for an address with no house, street or landmark, a number that never picks up or is switched off, a number or address that refused a parcel from you before, and a first order that is unusually large for a buyer you have never sold to. None of these proves an order is fake. Each one means you confirm harder before you book.

Can I block a customer’s number from ordering again?

Keep a blocklist of your own: a sheet of numbers and addresses that refused or placed fake orders, checked before you book every parcel. Storelala has no built-in blocklist, so the check is yours to do before you book the courier.

Should I ask for advance payment on COD orders?

Not on every order, or you lose buyers who only order on COD. Ask for it on orders that hit one of your risk rules, such as a high value or a number on your blocklist. The delivery charge in advance covers your courier cost if the parcel comes back. A part payment makes sense on expensive items.

Who pays the courier when a fake COD order comes back?

The seller. You pay for the trip out, and whether you also pay for the trip back depends on the courier and your account. Leopards says its Retail COD has no return fees. For any other courier, check your rate card or agreement.

Where do I report a fake order or online harassment in Pakistan?

A fake order on its own is not worth a report: cancel it and add it to your list. For threats, abusive messages or someone taking payments in your brand’s name, cybercrime complaints go to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA). The FIA’s old cybercrime address now redirects to its site.

Storelala is the Shopify alternative in Pakistan: your own store at yourbrand.storelala.com, cash on delivery built into checkout, no marketplace commission, and free to start with no card needed. Start your store and ship only the orders that are real.