Free tools · Updated Oct 18, 2026
Fake and bot order loss calculator
When a fake or fraudulent order ships, you lose the goods and the shipping, and the payment usually comes back out of your account as a chargeback or refund, often with a dispute fee on top. Enter your own numbers to see what that costs. Nothing is stored and there are no built-in averages.
Your result
$162 a month, $1,938 a year
Showing results for the example numbers. Replace them with your own and press Calculate.
| Goods and shipping lost per month | $114 |
| Chargebacks per month | 1.5 |
| Dispute fees per month | $22.50 |
| Your time per month | $25.00 |
| Total loss per month | $162 |
| Total loss per year | $1,938 |
| Your fraud dispute rate | 0.38% of orders |
| Goods, shipping and dispute fees avoided per year if every fake order were held before shipping and refunded (best case; your time is still spent) | $1,638 |
This is arithmetic on the numbers above, not a forecast or a promise of savings.
How the math works
- Assumption: the payment on every fake order is reversed by a chargeback or refunded by you, so the sale brings in nothing
- Goods and shipping lost = fake orders × (product cost + shipping cost)
- Chargebacks = fake orders × chargeback % ÷ 100; dispute fees = chargebacks × fee
- Time cost = fake orders × minutes ÷ 60 × hourly cost
- Total per month = goods and shipping + dispute fees + time; per year = total × 12
- Your fraud dispute rate = chargebacks ÷ total orders × 100 (other dispute reasons aren't included)
- If every fake order were held before shipping, you'd still refund it, but you would keep the goods and shipping, and refunding before the shopper's bank steps in usually avoids a chargeback. The "held before shipping" line is that best case.
Automate the fix: Bot Order Shield
Pauses shipping on suspicious or bot orders and emails you, so you never ship to a fraudster. Never auto-cancels. Runs in free Shopify Flow, tested in a live Shopify store. $29 one-time.
Prefer to do it by hand first? Read How to Stop Bot and Fake Orders on Shopify (Manual Fix + Free Automation).
FAQ
How do I know an order is fake?
Look at Shopify's fraud analysis on the order, mismatched billing and shipping addresses on a new customer's larger order, repeated generic names, random-letter emails and several orders in minutes. Our guide to stopping bot orders covers the signs in detail.
Why count the product cost and not the selling price?
The selling price comes back to the shopper's card when the order is charged back or refunded, so the money you actually lose is what you spent on the goods and shipping, plus fees and time.
Why does my dispute rate matter?
Payment providers monitor how many of your orders end in disputes, and a high rate can lead to reviews, reserves or holds on your payouts. Check your Shopify Payments or payment provider dashboard for your account's standing.
Can I stop fake orders from shipping automatically?
Yes. A Shopify Flow workflow can hold fulfillment when an order shows a warning sign, so nothing ships until you check it. Bot Order Shield does this and never cancels or refunds on its own.