'Most Expensive Can of Tuna Ever': A Woman Is Going Viral After Receiving a Can of Albacore Instead of Her Luxury Online Order There's been an increase in online fraud in the retail industry "particularly related to returns," according to a rep from Saks Fifth Avenue.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Sometimes, what we order online is not what we receive.
In a clip viewed over 1.4 million times, a woman says she joined TikTok to share how she ordered a Dolce & Gabbana ashtray from Saks Fifth Avenue, which retails for $275, and instead received something quite fishy.
@howdyfolks72 @Saks Fifth Avenue ♬ original sound - howdyfolks
When she opened her order, a branded, black Dolce & Gabbana box, she found a can of tuna.
"When I opened it … this is what I found," she tells viewers, pulling out the can. "A can of albacore tuna. And like it's kind of hard to see but there's a ring in the foam like it's been there and you can definitely see it in the lid … This is the most f****** expensive can of tuna I've ever bought."
In a statement to TODAY, Saks said the error was part of an online shopping fraud trend involving returns and confirmed that the order had been replaced.
"We take our customer experience very seriously. Across the retail industry, there has been an increase in online fraud, particularly related to returns," a Saks representative told TODAY. "Luxury continues to be a target given its high price points, and as such, we have implemented more rigorous steps in our return process, including additional reviews and stronger authentication. Our highly automated fulfillment centers manage millions of shipments every year, but it is not acceptable for even a small number of our customers to have this experience."
Viewers were dumbfounded at the shopper's discovery, with many sharing tales of incorrect online orders.
Related: 5 Steps to Make the Most of a Product Return
"This happened to me," one viewer wrote. "Ordered Loewe sneakers from Saks and got a random jacket. Not quite tuna fish LOL. Customer service was great."
"This is the third video I've seen this week of an insane customer experience at Saks," another pointed out. "What on earth is going on?"
A survey by Appriss Retail and the National Retail Federation estimated that 13.7% of returns, or $101 billion worth, were a scam in 2023. Customers returned stolen items or "junk" — like in the TikToker's case, a can of tuna — instead of their orders or claimed to have never received the order (but did).
"In cases where fraud is on the rise, like this year, what we've seen in the data, retailers are forced to, at minimum, change their policies slightly to accommodate for that potential fraud and abuse," said Michael Osborne, CEO of Appriss Retail, per CNBC. "It does increase their costs and essentially erodes their margin."
Saks Fifth Avenue did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur's request for comment.
