CredForma is a private network where verified online sellers share fraud signals to protect each other. Sellers can flag addresses linked to repeat fraud patterns like chargeback abuse, return fraud, and false claims so others can see warnings before they ship. It's a way for sellers to coordinate and share information without exposing customer data or creating permanent blacklists.
Hi,
Contrary to what corporate marketing departments say a founder's intro letter should look like, I am not going to start with my origin story or pretend I discovered my passion by transcending space time at a yoga retreat in a redwood forest.
All you need to know is I sell online. I do fine. And yes, even with how messy e-commerce has become, I still like running my shop.
Here is why I started CredForma.
Around mid 2024, a strange pattern snuck up on me. Customers I would later recognize as black hat operators, freelancers working for competitors, manipulation services, or review rings, started buying, returning, and posting matching negative feedback.
It felt harmless at first. I had plenty of five star reviews, so I chalked it up as a phase and looked inward. Was my listing unclear? Did I word something badly? Like many of you, any time I get a return, self doubt rears its head.
But the pattern did not go away. Certain regions suddenly had a higher return rate. I tried to rationalize it. Coincidence? Picky customers? A cheaper look alike product nearby?
Then I started emailing people who returned. Many replied with the exact same words: "too short." Same phrasing, again and again, on products with very clear dimensions posted. Not normal.
Then it escalated. Photos came in showing "what I sent them": women's lingere, loose nuts and bolts, washing machine parts, and empty boxes. I do not sell any of that. My reviews slipped from hundreds of five stars to a three point something average while I watched helplessly.
Feeling powerless, I made a spreadsheet. I logged every return, every ZIP, every excuse. Patterns emerged, and so did a problem. Even if one region looked cursed, I cannot blacklist an entire area. I still need customers. Turn everything down and there is no business.
So what could I actually do? I had a list of buyers I would never ship to again and nothing useful to share without crossing a line. I searched for bad buyer lists, thinking someone must have solved this already. What I found were janky Geocities era sites doxing people, full names, emails, phone numbers, angry comments. It felt reckless and wrong, and legally radioactive.
I wanted something that goes in another direction. So I started CredForma.
It's not as trashy or vindictive as the other sites I found. It's professional enough so that most independent sellers can feel comfortable sharing their experiences, yet not imposing or expensive like the services for big box retail.
A private channel where vetted sellers share address signals and leave personal data out of it. No public lists. No theatrics. We pay attention to consistent markers such as repeat returns, swaps, and diversion schemes, not single incidents. File to an address with no names, only after a legitimate shipment. We verify with tracking. Reports age out. Nothing becomes a scar. The risk signal quiets when the behavior stops.
I built this because I needed it. If you felt the same knot in your stomach when a too familiar city and state shows up, you probably need it too.
If you read this far: welcome. Look around. It's a super simple site. No pop ups. No tracking cookies or annoying cookie banners (we only use essential cookies to keep you logged in). Unless you share your business info, nothing is stored but your email address.
And it's currently free to join!
Contribute if you have something real. If you are just curious, that is fine. Learn what you can and decide if it helps. I am keeping my name off this for now because the goal is not me. The goal is the network. If it works, we all get a little saner.
Thanks for reading!
— The founder of CredForma (anonymous for now)