How to Prevent Fake COD Orders in Shopify

Cash on Delivery (COD) remains one of the most preferred payment methods for online shoppers worldwide. However, it also introduces a major challenge for Shopify merchants — fake or unverified COD orders that lead to high Return-to-Origin (RTO) rates, increased logistics costs, and operational losses.

Many stores face situations where customers place COD orders without genuine purchase intent, resulting in failed deliveries and unnecessary shipping expenses.

To address this, merchants increasingly implement COD verification, availability controls, and COD charges to reduce risky orders while maintaining checkout conversions.

Solutions like Codify COD automate this process through OTP verification, allowing merchants to confirm genuine customers before fulfillment and minimize fake COD orders.

With automated COD management, merchants can:

• Verify COD orders instantly before fulfillment
• Prevent fake COD orders and reduce RTO
• Automatically cancel unverified orders
• Send OTP reminders to customers
• Add extra charges for COD orders
• Restrict COD availability by products, zip codes, or order value

By combining verification, pricing control, and availability rules, merchants gain complete control over Cash on Delivery orders without negatively impacting conversions.

Codify COD is a Shopify app built to help merchants reduce fake Cash on Delivery (COD) orders through OTP verification and smart COD controls.

By verifying customers using OTP after order placement and allowing merchants to apply COD charges and availability rules, Codify COD helps identify genuine buyers, reduce risky orders, and improve overall order quality — without disrupting the checkout experience.

With Codify COD, merchants can easily add an extra charge to Cash on Delivery orders. This helps:

• Offset logistics and handling costs
• Discourage unnecessary COD orders
• Increase overall profitability

COD charges are clearly visible to customers, ensuring transparency and trust during checkout.

Not every order should qualify for COD. Codify COD lets you control where and when COD appears.

These rules help ensure COD is available only where it makes business sense.

Codify COD provides an OTP verification widget on:

• The Thank You page
• The Order Status page

After placing a Cash on Delivery order, the customer clicks the “Send OTP” button in the widget to receive the OTP on their registered mobile number. The order is verified only after the customer enters the correct OTP.

To help merchants easily identify the verification status of COD orders, Codify COD automatically adds order tags based on the verification result:

• coc:otp_verified

  Added when the customer successfully verifies the order using OTP

• coc:otp_failed

  Added when OTP verification fails

• coc:otp_unverified

  Added when the maximum OTP resend limit has been reached and the order is still not verified.

These tags allow merchants and fulfillment teams to quickly filter, track, and take action on COD orders directly from the Shopify admin.

For additional protection, merchants can enable automatic cancellation for COD orders that fail OTP verification.

When this option is enabled:

• Orders tagged with coc:otp_failed are automatically cancelled after the selected time period
• Shipping and logistics costs for unverified orders are avoided
• Only confirmed COD orders move forward for fulfillment

If a COD order is not verified within a defined time window, Codify COD can automatically send reminder messages prompting the customer to complete OTP verification.

These reminders help improve verification rates while keeping the process customer-friendly.

Codify COD provides clear visibility into OTP activity by tracking:

• OTP messages triggered by customers
• Reminder messages sent
• SMS usage and applicable charges

This ensures full transparency and control over COD verification communication.

• Built for COD-heavy markets like India
• Helps reduce fake orders and RTO
• Improves COD profitability
• Customer-initiated OTP ensures transparency
• Clear pricing and usage tracking

Offering COD can boost your Shopify store's sales and customer trust. However, without proper management, it can also complicate operations. The Codify COD app allows you to seamlessly charge for COD orders while also controlling when and where the COD is available and otp verification.

By using this app, you can streamline your operations, protect your margins, and ensure a smooth customer experience. If you want to expand into COD without the usual headaches, this app is the perfect solution for your Shopify store.

Ready to customize your COD payments and boost your Shopify sales? Try Codify COD with a 7-day free trial.