Many large retailers in the U.S. have long been engaged in the practice of quietly tracking and targeting return behavior.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, U.S. retailers use third-party loss-prevention services to track risky return behavior.
This doesn't outright mean fraudulent activity, but rather behavior that "mimics" or could be linked to such behavior.
The most notable third-party loss-prevention service is The Retail Equation, a software provider that tracks return behavior that retailers deem potentially fraudulent.
According to several now-dismissed lawsuits and Better Business Bureau complaints, customers reported they were following a store's return policy and were still issued a warning.
Persons:
Robert Overstreet
Organizations:
Walmart, Staples, National Retail Federation, Iowa, Wall Street Journal, Better
Locations:
U.S, T.J.Maxx