Automate Fraud Prevention: Cancel Orders & Notify via Email Deny List

Fraudulent orders aren't just a hit to your bottom line; they drain staff time through manual review, incur chargeback fees, and can even lead to inventory loss if not caught quickly. Manually cross-referencing suspicious emails against a list is tedious, prone to error, and reactive, leaving you vulnerable to repeat offenders.

This Flow automates proactive fraud defense. When an "Order created" trigger fires, it instantly checks the order's email against your custom deny list stored in a Metaobject. Based on your defined "Action list" for that email, it will either "Cancel order" immediately, preventing fulfillment, or "Send internal email" to your team for further review, all without human intervention.

• You've identified specific email addresses repeatedly used for fraudulent purchases.
• You want to instantly stop fulfillment of high-risk orders to prevent shipping costs and chargebacks.
• Your team needs immediate alerts for suspicious orders originating from known problematic email addresses.

1. 1

   Create a Metaobject definition for your "Fraud Deny List," including a field for "Email" and another for "Action List" (e.g., "Cancel," "Notify"). Populate it with known fraudulent emails.

2. 2

   Configure the "Order created" trigger to initiate the workflow.

3. 3

   Add the "Get metaobject entries" action to search your "Fraud Deny List" for matching order emails.

4. 4

   Implement the "For each loop" and subsequent "Condition" steps to check the "Action list" field from your Metaobject entry.

5. 5

   Set up the "Cancel order" action (with refund/restock options) or "Send internal email" action based on the condition's outcome.

How do I add emails to the deny list?

You update the deny list directly within your Shopify Admin under the Metaobjects section. Each entry typically contains the fraudulent email and the desired automated action (e.g., "Cancel").

Can this Flow refund the customer?

Yes, when configuring the "Cancel order" action in Flow, you have the option to process a full or partial refund and restock items, if applicable, directly within the workflow.

What if an email is on the deny list but shouldn't be?

You can easily remove or modify any entry in your Fraud Deny List Metaobject directly from your Shopify Admin, ensuring the Flow no longer acts on that specific email address.

Can I send a different notification if an order is flagged?

Absolutely. Instead of just email, you could use a "Send HTTP request" action to integrate with a CRM, Slack (if using a connector), or other internal tools for richer, channel-specific notifications.

• Shopify Flow

  Native Shopify automation builder.

• Gorgias

  Helpdesk built for Shopify support workflows.

• Automatically Tag Risky Orders for Manual Review

  This Flow automatically tags orders that Shopify's risk analysis flags as high risk, streamlining your review process and preventing potential fraud.

• Automate High-Risk Order Cancellation on Shopify

  Instantly cancel orders flagged as high risk by Shopify to prevent fraud, protect revenue, and save valuable manual review time.

• Automate Holding Pre-Order Shipments Until Stock Arrives

  Automatically pause fulfillment for orders containing pre-order items, ensuring they don't ship before stock is ready and reducing manual order management.