Everlane Case Study
Blocking $30k per month in FTID Return Fraud
blocked each month
blocked each month
blocked each month
blocked each month
Key Results
Everlane -
doing right by its customers.
Everlane is a modern apparel brand known for its commitment to quality, transparency, and doing right by its customers. With a strong ecommerce presence and customer-friendly policies, returns are a natural part of the experience and a key part of keeping customers happy.
But those same policies can attract a small, damaging group: return fraudsters and organized bad actors who exploit generous return workflows, carrier systems, and operational blind spots. For Everlane, one significant source of return fraud was Fake Tracking ID (FTID) fraud.
Wyllo, in partnership with Happy Returns, a UPS company, helped Everlane achieve the following key results:
- Tens of thousands of dollars in FTID-based fraudulent returns were prevented within the first two months. Wyllo quickly surfaced and stopped a problem the team hadn’t been able to quantify before.
- Hours of manual investigation are avoided each week. Instead of digging through UPS invoices and one-off cases, the team has a clear, centralized view of return abuse.
- Stronger executive confidence and “psychological wins.” Leadership finally sees fraudsters attempting $10K returns and concrete wins against bad actors who had been taking advantage of the brand.
See Our Accurate Real-Time Fraud Screening for ecommerce in Action
See Our Accurate Real-Time Fraud Screening for ecommerce in Action
Return Fraud
A Big Blind Spot in Return Fraud
Before Wyllo, Everlane knew something was going on with return fraud and abuse, but only in bits and pieces. There was no holistic way to see the full scope of the problem.
The team would sometimes stumble onto issues only when something looked “off” in other systems. For example, a surprising charge on the UPS return account or with one investigation uncovering a $4,000 return that never made it back to the warehouse, discovered only because a high shipping charge prompted a manual review.
Here are the key pain points Everlane experienced before Wyllo.
No Quantified View of Return Fraud
Before Wyllo, the team didn’t have a clear, quantified view of return fraud. They were mostly operating on anecdotal signals and one-off investigations when something looked “off.” That made it hard to understand the true size of the problem or track progress over time.
Limited Fraud Visibility Across Orders and Time
Fraud signals were siloed, with very limited visibility across orders and customer activity over time. There wasn’t an easy way to connect related entities or spot patterns that pointed to repeat offenders. As a result, the team often treated incidents as isolated cases instead of part of a broader trend.
Refunds Processed Before Issues Were Caught
In many cases, refunds were issued before problems were discovered, especially in FTID cases, where a tracking number can appear legitimate at first glance. By the time the team realized the return never arrived (or was otherwise abusive), the money was already gone, putting them in a reactive position.
Growing Frustration and a Sense of Being Taken Advantage Of
Over time, the lack of visibility and control created real frustration internally. Operational teams felt the burden of chasing down issues, and leadership felt the financial and brand impact without a clear path to address it. As Jim put it, return fraud was a “blind spot.”
Why Wyllo?
Passion, Low Risk, and Ease of Launch
When Everlane evaluated options, they weren’t just looking for a tool. They were looking for a partner that truly lives and breathes return fraud prevention.
Jim explains what stood out and the top reasons why they chose Wyllo.
- The passion behind the Wyllo team was clear. “Jordan, Alex, and the entire Wyllo team clearly live this and have a passion for helping brands target these things. You’ve made it your work.”
- The ROI relative to the effort to launch was strong. It was lightweight to implement and simple to maintain. It didn’t require a large investment of engineering or operations time.
- The cost structure was low risk. Wyllo provided immediate ROI and helped deliver on the promised business case.
- Integration fit naturally into Everlane’s existing workflows. The team didn’t need to re-platform or overhaul existing processes to get value quickly.
Even post-acquisition and growth, Wyllo continues to feel like a hands-on partner, not just a vendor.
Full Control
From “We Think Something’s Happening” to Full Control
1. Blocking $30,000+ in FTID Return Fraud Each Month
With Wyllo in place, Everlane can flag suspicious return behavior in real time and prevent fraudulent refunds before they’re issued. As the team puts it,“Wyllo flags suspicious return behaviors as they occur, which allows us to block that refund before it occurs and block that customer from ordering again.”
This shifted Everlane from reactive to proactive:
- Fraudulent refunds can be stopped before money leaves the business.
- Repeat offenders can be prevented from placing more orders.
- Teams don’t need to wait for a charge or complaint to trigger an investigation.
Wylloprevents $30,000-$40,000 in FTID returns per month and that’s just one type of return fraud.
2. A Clear View of the Problem (And a Story to Tell Internally)
For a large portion of his tenure, Jim didn’t know how deep the problem went. With Wyllo, he now has a clear, data-backed view of what is actually happening. He explains, “It’s not necessarily the dollar number that will save a company on its own … but it’s every few dollars in this climate, and it’s a psychological win as much as anything.”
Now the team can:
- Quantify the fraud that’s being caught.
- Share concrete numbers and examples with executive leadership.
- Turn anecdotal “we think we’re being hit” into data-backed insight.
Leadership doesn’t just see loss prevention, they see the company fighting back.
3. Consortium Insights and Connected Identities
“We didn’t know the extent of return fraud before we started this. It’s been really unexpected to see how much we’re catching. The consortium piece is really helpful because it allows us to see when a very similar email or related entity pops up again,” Dahlia shares. Many of these connected entities were tied to repeat FTID behavior, allowing Everlane to stop fraud earlier instead of rediscovering the same abuse patterns again and again.
Wyllo’s consortium and linkage logic help Everlane:
- Spot related entities (emails, addresses, patterns) that connect seemingly separate returns.
- Understand patterns over time, not just one-off incidents.
- Get early warning when someone who hit another merchant pops up in Everlane’s ecosystem.
4. Psychological Wins and Team Morale
Beyond the spreadsheets and dashboards, there’s a very human win. Jim puts it simply:
“It sucks to feel like you’re getting taken advantage of.”
Wyllo gives Everlane a way to push back, and they’ve noticed the impact goes beyond the numbers.
- There’s a real morale boost in stopping repeat offenders, so customer conversations don’t have to start from suspicion or the assumption that someone’s trying to game the system.
- Sharing wins with leadership creates visible excitement and momentum.
- There’s a sense of control and agency that simply wasn’t there before.
