That’s not my signature — or is it?

John, a professional fraudster who liked to game the system, had worked out a scam where he could buy products online but never pay for them. He simply disputed the credit card charges by either claiming the products never arrived or saying he’d never bought them in the first place. The items were then removed from his statement.

With free products in hand, John could either enjoy them for his own pleasure or sell them for a tidy profit elsewhere online. This kind of scam, called friendly fraud, has been on the rise as people increasingly shop online. But merchants have been catching on. One way they’re stopping fraudsters like John is to insist that the buyer sign for the product on delivery.

John knew this, so he added a new twist to the scheme. He signed when his packages were delivered but with some suspicious flourishes so that he could later deny that it was his signature. (See “What is friendly fraud? A guide for small business owners,” PayPal, Aug. 21, 2023.)