Get answers to common questions about CredForma
CredForma is a secure, privacy-first "living network" where verified online sellers who ship physical products to physical addresses can share and search fraud-related risk signals. It works like a credit bureau for destinations but does not store or expose customer information in plain text. The platform highlights patterns such as return abuse, triangulation schemes, and suspicious chargebacks. CredForma helps sellers gain informed expectations before shipping, giving them peace of mind while protecting customer privacy.
When you encounter suspicious behavior at a shipping address, you can report it through our secure system. The address is hashed on your device with a CredForma-specific salt before being sent to our servers, so we never see the actual address. Other vetted sellers can see whether prior risk signals exist for that address.
Names can be easily changed, stolen, or faked, making them unreliable for fraud detection. Shipping addresses are much harder to manipulate and provide a more accurate signal of suspicious patterns. Our focus on addresses, not names, protects customer privacy while providing better fraud prevention and avoids potential identity theft concerns.
Unlike traditional fraud tools, CredForma is built by sellers for sellers. We focus on patterns rather than personal information, use time decay to prevent permanent blacklisting, preserve customer privacy and keep seller identities confidential from other members; CredForma verifies sellers but does not disclose them, and offer crowd-sourced intelligence specifically designed for small businesses who often have no recourse against repeat fraud.
CredForma has no official affiliation with any specific service or platform. All services are rendered through CredForma's website. Sellers are responsible for ensuring their use of CredForma complies with the terms, rules, and policies of the platforms where they conduct business.
CredForma is currently in closed beta. As long as they are in good standing, early vetted "founding users" get free lifetime access with limits on reports and searches. Public tiers with paid plans for higher volumes and features with pricing details will be announced if we approach public launch. Our goal is to keep the service accessible to independent sellers of all sizes.
Flags indicate that vetted sellers have reported potential issues at an address. Because reports come from verified members who are required to act in good faith, they are generally reliable but not proof of fraud. Treat them as advisory signals and use them to set informed expectations and, when appropriate, add safeguards before shipping.
New reports appear in search results after approval. Time decay scoring updates continuously to reflect the age of each report.
All CredForma members must be verified as legitimate sellers before gaining access. This includes proof of selling activity, business verification, and identity confirmation. We may require documentation such as business licenses, platform seller profiles, or transaction history. Access is currently by invitation or application only during our closed beta phase.
To understand each applicant’s past selling experience and operating workflow in order to confirm they align with CredForma’s standards for legitimate sellers. The quiz also ensures members understand how to use CredForma responsibly, accurately, and without discrimination, and that they know our reporting guidelines.
You submit five recent used shipping labels that all show the same return address and include visible tracking numbers. Our team checks each tracking number through the carrier’s system to confirm the shipment was delivered within the past 3 weeks. This helps us verify that you are actively fulfilling orders from a consistent location.
Daily limits help prevent spam and promote thoughtful reporting. Users can only report the same address once within a set time period, ensuring reports reflect genuine fraud concerns rather than routine disputes, competitive abuse, or emotional reactions. This cool-down period helps maintain the quality and reliability of our fraud signals while reducing false positives and preventing the system from being overloaded.
Tracking numbers are essential for maintaining the quality and credibility of our database. They serve as proof that a shipment was actually delivered to the address being reported, helping us verify that reports are based on real transactions.
This verification system ensures that only legitimate, evidence-backed reports enter our network, protecting both sellers and the integrity of our fraud signals.
Reporting an address with a tracking number older than 60 days may not go through in our system, depending on which carrier was used and how long ago the delivery occurred. We recommend reporting an address as soon as the fraud event occurs.
No. Only vetted verified sellers who have been granted access to CredForma can search addresses. Each user must go through our verification process and maintain good standing in the community. The system is not publicly accessible and requires authenticated access from legitimate business users.
A scam or return abuser typically includes customers who consistently claim non-delivery when tracking shows delivered, file excessive chargebacks without legitimate cause, engage in return fraud by sending back different or damaged items, or use stolen payment methods. The key is a pattern of fraudulent behavior rather than isolated incidents.
Triangulation fraud occurs when a scammer uses stolen credit card information to purchase items from you, then has those items shipped to an unsuspecting victim. The victim receives unexpected packages, the real card owner disputes the charges, and you lose both the product and payment. The shipping address appears legitimate but is actually a victim's address.
Common e-commerce scams include reshipping schemes where criminals use addresses as forwarding points to international destinations, package theft coordination where scammers know delivery schedules, fake damage claims for insurance fraud, and address manipulation where slight variations are used to confuse tracking and delivery confirmation systems.
Do not report legitimate customer complaints, honest returns within policy, one-off delivery issues, customers who ask reasonable questions, price negotiations, customers who leave negative feedback, or customers who simply change their minds about purchases. CredForma is designed for pattern fraud, not regular business disputes or customer service issues.
No single sign confirms fraud, but certain patterns can indicate higher risk. These may include unusual urgency combined with other irregularities, repeated requests to ship to addresses different from billing, refusal to respond when clarification is required for payment or delivery, multiple high-value orders to new or unverified addresses, mismatched payment and shipping locations, or shipping method requests that limit traceability. Other recurring red flags include chargebacks soon after delivery, repeated returns that contain different or damaged items, multiple orders to different names at the same address, or freight forwarder addresses tied to expensive goods. CredForma helps highlight these patterns after they occur through community reporting so you can set informed expectations before shipping.
CredForma helps identify patterns after they have occurred through community reporting.
Yes. CredForma operates within legal boundaries by focusing on fraud patterns rather than personal information. All data is anonymized and hashed, and we never store identifiable customer information. Sellers share their own experiences about transactions they were involved in, which is legally permissible business communication.
No. Addresses are hashed on your device with a CredForma-specific salt before being sent to our servers, so we never see the actual address. We only store anonymous fraud signals and pattern data. Customer names, phone numbers, and other personal details are never collected, stored, or transmitted to our servers.
During registration, you provide an email and password, and you may optionally include business information to strengthen your application. Providing business details can improve your chances of approval but is not required. Depending on the review process, you may be asked to complete our seller quiz or submit recent shipping labels to confirm active fulfillment from a consistent location. Any information collected is used only to verify that you are a legitimate seller. Optional business details are converted into a non-reversible salted hash to prevent duplicate or fraudulent sign-ups, and all other verification data is securely deleted once the process is complete. These hashes cannot be used to reconstruct the original information.
All sensitive information is encrypted. We store hashed addresses for lookups and a small set of hashed verification fingerprints from vetting. Plaintext personal or customer data is not stored.
The system is designed with U.S. privacy principles and data minimization in mind. Your use of CredForma must comply with applicable laws and platform rules.
No. Data is for your internal use only and must not be shared externally.
Time decay means that address flags gradually lose their impact over time. This prevents permanent blacklisting and allows addresses to rehabilitate if the fraudulent activity stops. It acknowledges that fraud patterns can change, people can move, and that permanent punishment is not always fair or accurate for address-based reporting.
Scores decrease gradually as a report ages, balancing historical data with recent trends.
Coming Soon
When a vetted seller submits a valid report, the system applies a score based on type, frequency, and recency of reports. Search results should be considered as advisory risk signals rather than definitive judgments.
Your browser applies a unique CredForma-specific salt to the address before sending it. This means plaintext data never leaves your device and only hashed values are stored.
A flag indicates reported risk signals, not proof of fraud. Follow laws, platform rules, and your business policies. Consider safeguards like signature-required delivery or payment verification.
CredForma results are advisory and not proof of fraud. CredForma provides context for your internal review, but it does not override legal or contractual obligations. You remain bound by platform terms, consumer protection laws, and your own policies. Use CredForma as one factor to guide safeguards (for example, signature on delivery), not as automatic grounds for cancellation.
If you choose not to fulfill, ensure your decision follows neutral, consistently applied criteria under your own policies, and issue any refunds promptly.
No. CredForma results are for your internal fraud-prevention process only. When you signed up, you agreed under our Terms of Use and Confidentiality Agreement not to disclose this information to customers or any third party. Doing so could place you in legal jeopardy, including potential libel claims, and will result in immediate termination of your membership. CredForma is not responsible for and is absolved from any disputes, claims, or damages that arise from a seller violating this rule. Instead, apply your own verification process and safeguards without referencing the flag or CredForma.
No. Reporter identities are confidential to protect privacy and prevent retaliation.
Review the order with extra scrutiny but weigh your own positive history heavily.
It may not have been reported yet, excluded for policy or privacy reasons, or belong to a federal or local government entity (government filter coming soon).
CredForma’s anonymized, hashed data is designed for pattern recognition, not as legal evidence. Consult counsel on proper documentation and evidence collection for any legal action.
Yes. Contact support with evidence for review.
Any use of the platform for discriminatory purposes is strictly prohibited. Decisions must be based on transactional behavior, not personal characteristics.
If you encounter abuse of the CredForma system, technical issues, or have concerns about another user's behavior, contact our support team through the Help section. We take community standards seriously and investigate all reports of system abuse, false reporting, or violations of our terms of service.