Chargeflow Prevent 2.0 targets 'never arrived' chargebacks before Black Friday
Chargeflow has launched Prevent 2.0, a new AI model for its Shopify fraud scanning product, which the company says catches 10 times more fraud and abuse than the previous generation. The company also opened the Chargeflow Data Lab, whose first findings show that "never arrived" claims overtake fraud claims over Black Friday weekend.
- Chargeflow says Prevent 2.0 catches 10 times more fraud and abuse than the previous generation.
- Prevent 2.0 scans every order after checkout, covering stolen cards, friendly fraud and abuse such as repeat disputers.
- Chargeflow Data Lab: 34.7% of chargebacks over Black Friday weekend 2025 said the order never arrived, versus 19.9% in a normal week.
- Fraud claims fell to 27.2% of chargebacks over the weekend, from 37.8% in a normal week.
- First 1,000 scanned transactions are free for new Prevent merchants through Dec. 31, 2026, then $0.10 per scanned transaction.
What Prevent 2.0 changes
Chargeflow, an AI chargeback platform used by more than 20,000 merchants, describes Prevent 2.0 as the new model behind Chargeflow Prevent. The tool scans every order after checkout and blocks risky orders before fulfillment. According to the company, nothing changes at checkout for shoppers.
The central change is scope. Most disputes do not claim fraud at all, Chargeflow says. The buyer states that the order never arrived, was not as described, or that they did not mean to renew. Prevent 2.0 scans for those cases too, not only for stolen cards.
- A new AI model: every decision comes from the new model, made after checkout and before the order ships.
- Stolen cards covered: Prevent checks for third-party fraud in the same decision as friendly fraud.
- Suspect delivery patterns: it spots signs such as different names shipping to the same address.
- Sharper on abuse: it is better at identifying known repeat disputers, including on their first order with a store.
Each decision draws on Chargeflow Network Intelligence, the dispute data the company sees across its more than 20,000 merchants. That allows Prevent to flag a buyer with a history of disputes at other stores, even when it is their first order with a new one.
What the Data Lab found about Black Friday
Chargeflow also launched the Chargeflow Data Lab. Its first reports draw on a study of about three million disputes across the last three peak seasons.
Over the 2025 Black Friday to Cyber Monday weekend, 34.7% of chargebacks said the order never arrived, the claim card networks call "item not received." In a normal week the share was 19.9%. According to the Data Lab, the same shift appeared in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Fraud claims moved the other way. Their share of chargebacks fell to 27.2% over the weekend, from 37.8% in a normal week. On the busiest weekend of the season, "never arrived" claims therefore outnumbered fraud claims.
Chargeflow adds that this is a claim merchants can answer. Disputes of this type that went to a decision were won about 1.5 times as often when backed by strong evidence, such as proof of delivery.
Pricing, availability and what it means for merchants
Prevent 2.0 is live now for Shopify merchants. Every merchant already running Prevent moves automatically to the upgraded protection, with nothing to switch on. Merchants new to Prevent get the first 1,000 scanned transactions free through Dec. 31, 2026. After that, Prevent costs $0.10 per scanned transaction, covering each order or subscription renewal it scans.
Merchants new to Chargeflow can install the app from the Shopify App Store and activate Prevent. Existing Chargeflow merchants can activate Prevent in their account.
For online sellers, the data points to a shift in what to expect during peak shopping season: delivery disputes, not fraud, make up the largest share of chargebacks on the busiest weekend. Avia Chen, co-founder and chief product officer of Chargeflow, said: "We believe every merchant should have this protection, and that it should come switched on rather than as a project." The figures on detection and dispute outcomes come from Chargeflow itself and have not been independently verified in the announcement.
