Concern About Multiple Abandoned Checkouts Scam

Shopify Discussion
1

Hi,

I’ve noticed multiple abandoned checkouts from similar customers, all within the same region. I believe the CAPTCHA protection tool is enabled, but this is the third week in a row, and it’s becoming a concern.

Additionally, I’ve observed a slowdown in emails and custom orders, which may be related.

Should I be worried? Is there anything I can do to address this issue?

I’d really appreciate your advice.

Thanks,

2

Hi, if you have enabled abandoned checkout email automation then it will quickly eat up your quota for emails.

And this is something that has always annoyed the shopify merchants.

I can help you prevent this.

Would you please let me know if you have the customer data who is doing this?

Because based on that data such as email we can block him from your website.

However, maybe he is an actual customer and just searching for your store and deciding on the products to buy or there might be some problem with your checkout or any of the product page due to which this could be occurring.

I will need your store access in order to further investigate this issue.

Thanks,

Abdul Moeed

3

Hi,

This is Richard at PageFly - Shopify Advanced Page Builder app.

Yes, you absolutely should be concerned and take proactive steps to address this issue. A recurring pattern of abandoned checkouts from a specific region, coupled with potential email and custom order slowdowns, suggests a potential problem that needs immediate investigation. Here’s a breakdown of what you should do:

1. Investigate the Abandoned Checkouts:

  • Region-Specific Analysis:
    • Carefully analyze the abandoned checkouts. Look for any commonalities beyond the region. Are there specific products, payment methods, or devices being used?
    • Are there any patterns in the timing of the abandoned checkouts?
  • CAPTCHA Effectiveness:
    • While CAPTCHA is designed to prevent bot activity, it can sometimes hinder legitimate customers.
    • Verify that your CAPTCHA implementation is not overly aggressive or difficult to use.
    • If possible, analyze the CAPTCHA logs to see if there are any unusual patterns or high failure rates.
  • Payment Gateway Issues:
    • There could be issues with the payment gateway specific to that region.
    • Contact your payment gateway provider to inquire about any known issues or outages.
    • Test payment processing from that region yourself, if possible.
  • Shipping Issues:
    • Verify that your shipping rates and options are correctly configured for that region.
    • High shipping costs or limited shipping options could be causing customers to abandon their checkouts.

Hoping my solution helps you solve your problem.

Best regards,

Richard | PageFly

4

Hi DJPdarts,

Yes, this is worth paying attention to — repeated abandoned checkouts from very similar customers in the same region over three weeks is a common sign of bot activity, even when CAPTCHA is enabled.

Bots have gotten better at mimicking real users, and sometimes they create patterns like this while testing or scraping.

A few practical things you can do right now:

  • Double-check that hCaptcha is turned on in Online Store → Preferences → Spam protection.
  • Go to Settings → Checkout and set Customer accounts to Required. This adds a good layer of protection because many bots struggle with account creation.
  • In your shipping settings, consider tightening the countries or regions you ship to if the suspicious traffic is coming from one specific area.
  • Use Shopify Flow (free app) to automatically tag or hide orders that look suspicious based on repeat patterns.

These steps usually help reduce the noise without affecting real customers much. If the slowdown in real emails and custom orders continues, it might be worth adding stronger storefront protection.