AI image tools: a game changer for creativity and…

In late 2025, Forter identified and stopped a coordinated returns abuse operation that leveraged AI-generated imagery to facilitate large-scale refund fraud. The attack, which occurred around Christmas 2025, involved a total value of $1.5 million and demonstrated the growing sophistication of bad actors using accessible image synthesis tools.

What happened

The operation relied on AI-altered images to manufacture false evidence of product damage, such as minor cracks, dents, and faulty components. Fraud rings utilized these generated images to make fraudulent refund requests appear legitimate to retailers. By successfully obtaining refunds for items they claimed were damaged, the perpetrators were able to keep and resell the original, undamaged merchandise.

This incident highlights a broader trend where organized fraud groups treat policy abuse as a scalable business model. Rather than relying on simple deception, these groups create multiple accounts to coordinate activity across various merchants. The use of AI allows these actors to produce high-quality, realistic evidence in seconds, bypassing traditional barriers that previously required significant time, skill, or cost. Forter’s intervention revealed that detecting such activity requires analyzing the broader context—including identity, device behavior, and claim patterns across multiple retailers—rather than relying on static rules or individual pieces of visual evidence. This case serves as a notable example of the shift toward AI-powered retail abuse, where the speed and volume of synthetic content pose an increasing challenge to traditional verification processes.