Electronically delivered receipts are the latest option to enhance the shopping experience and become part of the green retailing movement. A handful of retailers have announced the ability to email receipts to consumers, and many more surely are considering the option. In today's mobile world, the concept of digitally replacing a slip of paper makes sense and certainly appeals to a younger, socially interconnected consumer base. E-receipts are the next hot trend. They will change the way we conduct business just as gift cards did 10 years ago. And, like gift cards, e-receipts create significant process changes that must be addressed before implementation to eliminate the risk of serious fraud and loss prevention consequences.

The benefits that make digital technology so appealing to consumers pose challenges for retailers trying to balance modern customer service with fiduciary responsibility. E-receipts are easy to transmit, easy to alter, susceptible to cloning and forgery, and hard to delete all instances once saved to storage media – making established LP practices focused on physical receipts obsolete.

Imagine the risks presented by same-day returns for a retailer using e-receipts and polling transactions nightly. A digital receipt can be transmitted instantly to multiple mobile devices across the city (or farther) and re-printed on all means of paper with no control by the retailer. Now, by only polling daily, retailers can be hit with rapid and massive return fraud before having time to react.

It's time to think differently about receipts. Historically, the receipt was the primary credential that confirmed a return transaction's integrity. For years, paper receipts have been vulnerable to fraud, and e-receipts will only make the issue worse. The receipt is longer the only indisputable evidence of a transaction.

So what is the solution? E-receipts are here to stay. The question is how to combat the threat of fraud in this rapidly changing electronic environment. A couple ways: Retailers can implement more frequent polling; however, it is still possible to fall victim to seemingly "valid" receipts. A second option is to consider a return authorization tool that is consumer-behavior based, so it doesn't just rely on a receipt (in paper or electronic form), but it measures the consumer's entire purchase and return history to ensure they are not perpetrating fraud.

Tom Rittman is the vice president of Marketing for The Retail Equation. In this role, he is responsible for the organization's branding, demand generation, marketing research and communications, as well as product marketing. Prior to joining The Retail Equation, Rittman served as the vice president of marketing for Datavantage, the retail technology subsidiary of Micros Systems Inc., where he was responsible for the organization's marketing strategy, development and execution. Before joining Datavantage, he held various marketing leadership positions with TMW Systems and Roadway Express. Rittman serves on the National Retail Federation's associate member advisory council, a committee designed to address the needs of the organization's growing associate member base. He holds his bachelor's degree in Marketing from the University of Akron.