Retailers Brace For Holiday Return Fraud

A survey of loss prevention executives at 60 retail companies representing grocery, department, discount, specialty and small retailers says stores expect to lose an estimated $10.9 billion to return fraud this year. Of that amount, an estimated $3.8 billion will be lost to return fraud this holiday season.

The amount retailers expect to lose during the holidays is up slightly from last year's $3.4 billion, according to the National Retail Federation's 2014 Return Fraud Survey.

Overall, retailers polled estimate 5.5 percent of holiday returns are fraudulent, similar to last year's 5.8 percent. Many return fraud instances are a direct result of larger, more experienced crime rings, the NRF says.

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