# Ecommerce Order Risk Automation Checklist

Use this checklist before automating order risk alerts for Shopify, WooCommerce, or another ecommerce store. The goal is not to make the automation decide fraud by itself. The goal is to route suspicious orders to a human before fulfillment.

## 1. Workflow Goal

- Store platform:
- Operations owner:
- Fulfillment owner:
- Review owner:
- Alert channel:
- Manual review threshold:
- Safe-to-ship criteria:

## 2. Trigger

Choose one clear trigger:

- New paid order
- New high-value order
- Order tagged by platform risk system
- Order shipping country mismatch
- Manual review queue update

Avoid using more than one trigger until duplicate handling is defined.

## 3. Risk Signals To Check

| Signal | Why it matters | Suggested action |
| --- | --- | --- |
| High order value | Larger loss if fulfilled incorrectly | Route to review |
| First-time customer | Less purchase history | Add context to alert |
| Shipping and billing mismatch | Possible risk signal | Flag for review |
| Unusual shipping country | May need manual inspection | Flag if outside approved list |
| Many failed payment attempts | Possible abuse or card testing | Route to review |
| Express shipping on high-value order | Higher urgency and potential loss | Escalate alert |
| Large discount plus high value | Margin and abuse risk | Add to alert |
| Multiple orders from same email or address | Possible duplicate or abuse pattern | Check before fulfillment |

## 4. Alert Payload

Minimum alert fields:

- Order number
- Customer email
- Order value
- Currency
- Payment status
- Fulfillment status
- Shipping country
- Billing country
- Shipping method
- Discount code
- Risk signals triggered
- Admin order URL
- Recommended next step

## 5. Review Rules

| Rule | Recommended behavior |
| --- | --- |
| Order below threshold with no signals | No alert |
| One medium-risk signal | Send standard review alert |
| Two or more risk signals | Send high-priority alert |
| High-value order plus mismatch | Pause fulfillment and request review |
| Duplicate order pattern | Ask owner to inspect before shipping |
| Missing order data | Log error and notify ops owner |

## 6. Test Cases

| Test | Input | Expected result |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Normal order | Low value, matching countries | No alert or low-priority log |
| High-value order | Total above threshold | Review alert is sent |
| Country mismatch | Billing and shipping countries differ | Alert includes mismatch reason |
| Express high-value order | High total plus express shipping | High-priority alert is sent |
| Duplicate pattern | Same customer places multiple orders quickly | Alert includes duplicate context |
| Missing field | Shipping country missing | Error or manual review route is triggered |

## 7. Handoff Standard

The workflow is ready when the store operator can answer:

- What order event starts the workflow?
- Which risk signals are checked?
- Which signals pause fulfillment?
- Where does the alert go?
- Who decides whether to ship?
- How are duplicate alerts prevented?
- How do we disable the workflow safely?