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Buyer Uses AI-Altered Image for Malicious Refund; Platform Arbitration Forces New Seller to Exit

Mr. Zhang, a fig grower in Xinji City, Hebei Province, recently opened a new store on a live-streaming e-commerce platform with great expectations, selling fig saplings he had cultivated himself. But after only 12 orders, he unexpectedly received a "partial refund" request—the buyer claimed the saplings had withered and died upon arrival.
The buyer attached a photo of a sapling with completely yellow leaves, showing no signs of life, to support the refund claim. With years of planting experience, Mr. Zhang immediately recognized the image as fake evidence generated using AI technology.
Platform arbitration approves in minutes, leaving merchants unable to prove their innocence
Mr. Zhang explained that he always ships saplings with the pot and ensures the soil stays moist. The entire delivery process, from shipment to customer receipt, took only two days. Based on sapling growth cycles, natural dehydration and wilting would take at least five to seven days, during which leaves would wrinkle and droop—not turn yellow as quickly as shown in the photo.
To protect his rights, Mr. Zhang promptly rejected the refund request and proactively initiated negotiations for a return and refund. However, the buyer then escalated the matter to platform intervention. Disappointingly, even after Mr. Zhang tried to explain with professional knowledge, the platform ruled in favor of the buyer within just a few minutes, relying on the AI-fabricated image.
National authorities introduce AI content verification; industry advocates using AI to combat AI
This 45-yuan "partial refund" order left Mr. Zhang feeling deeply wronged and eroded his confidence in the platform. Frustrated, he immediately began the process of closing his store. The incident also exposed new pain points: the rampant use of AI-generated images and the difficulty of accurately identifying malicious claims in online shopping.
In response to the growing threat of AI fraud, the National Anti-Telecom Fraud Center App recently launched an official AI content verification feature that can identify images and videos. Industry security experts further point out that the future core solution lies in "using AI to fight AI"—leveraging collaborative judgments from large and small models to prevent such malicious free-riding at the source.
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Mr. Zhang, a fig grower in Xinji City, Hebei Province, recently opened a new store on a live-streaming e-commerce platform with great expectations, selling fig saplings he had cultivated himself. But after only 12 orders, he unexpectedly received a "partial refund" request—the buyer claimed the saplings had withered and died upon arrival.
The buyer attached a photo of a sapling with completely yellow leaves, showing no signs of life, to support the refund claim. With years of planting experience, Mr. Zhang immediately recognized the image as fake evidence generated using AI technology.
Platform arbitration approves in minutes, leaving merchants unable to prove their innocence
Mr. Zhang explained that he always ships saplings with the pot and ensures the soil stays moist. The entire delivery process, from shipment to customer receipt, took only two days. Based on sapling growth cycles, natural dehydration and wilting would take at least five to seven days, during which leaves would wrinkle and droop—not turn yellow as quickly as shown in the photo.
To protect his rights, Mr. Zhang promptly rejected the refund request and proactively initiated negotiations for a return and refund. However, the buyer then escalated the matter to platform intervention. Disappointingly, even after Mr. Zhang tried to explain with professional knowledge, the platform ruled in favor of the buyer within just a few minutes, relying on the AI-fabricated image.
National authorities introduce AI content verification; industry advocates using AI to combat AI
This 45-yuan "partial refund" order left Mr. Zhang feeling deeply wronged and eroded his confidence in the platform. Frustrated, he immediately began the process of closing his store. The incident also exposed new pain points: the rampant use of AI-generated images and the difficulty of accurately identifying malicious claims in online shopping.
In response to the growing threat of AI fraud, the National Anti-Telecom Fraud Center App recently launched an official AI content verification feature that can identify images and videos. Industry security experts further point out that the future core solution lies in "using AI to fight AI"—leveraging collaborative judgments from large and small models to prevent such malicious free-riding at the source.
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