Shopify high-risk order: what fraud analysis means and what to do
An order with a warning icon and “Consider canceling this order” is Shopify’s fraud analysis at work. It can’t stop a chargeback — but it gives you the chance to look before you ship. Here’s how to read it.
Where to find it
In the Shopify admin, open Orders, click the order, and look at the Order risk section. Select Order risk evaluation or About this order for details. Medium and high-risk orders have a warning symbol on the Orders page. On mobile, use the Shopify app.
The recommendation
Shopify rates the risk of a fraud-related chargeback as low, medium or high, with one of three recommendations:
| Recommendation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| You can fulfill this order | Low risk |
| Confirm with the customer before fulfilling | Worth checking first |
| Consider canceling this order | High risk |
Recommendations are available on the Grow plan or higher, or if you use Shopify Payments.
The fraud indicators
On the Basic plan or higher, you also see indicators such as:
- whether the card passed the Address Verification System (AVS) check;
- whether the correct CVV was entered;
- whether the customer’s location matches the payment method;
- unusual device or network activity;
- whether the customer tried more than one card.
Shopify notes that indicators on their own don’t show the overall risk — use the recommendation.
What to do with a high-risk order
Shopify’s options are to verify the order, cancel it or refund it — before you ship. In practice:
- Don’t ship yet. Once it’s shipped, you can’t un-ship it if a chargeback arrives.
- Try to verify. On desktop, a Contact customer action may appear — it opens an email draft (nothing is sent automatically). A real customer will usually answer; ask them to confirm the order details.
- If you can’t verify, cancel and refund. A refund before shipping costs you far less than a chargeback with its fee.
A verification email you can paste into that draft:
Remember that the card-issuing bank decides whether to reverse a payment, and Shopify doesn’t cover charge reversals. If you use Shopify Protect, check that order’s protection status separately.
When there’s no recommendation
Shopify doesn’t give a recommendation for test, free, fully gift-card-paid, Point of Sale, B2B or subscription renewal orders. It works on online credit card orders that Shopify can verify; third-party payment processors may have their own limits.
Shopify Payments can also block some high-risk checkouts before an order is created — see them under Orders → Abandoned checkouts → Blocked.
If a fraud chargeback comes anyway, see Shopify chargebacks.