ShopSherpa at a Glance
Where ShopSherpa came from
In 2023, Anghelo Araujo Lazaro’s mother nearly lost $600 to a fake puppy listing. The seller had convincing photos, a believable backstory, and a request for a wire transfer. She caught it - barely - but the experience made clear that online shopping fraud wasn’t something that happened to unsophisticated people. It happened to careful, smart people who simply didn’t have the tools to catch it in time.
Anghelo was sixteen years old. He’d completed Harvard’s CS50 curriculum and programs at MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute. He built ShopSherpa to solve a problem he’d watched unfold firsthand: the gap between what online shopping looks like and what it actually is.
The free browser extension launched first. The mission was simple: catch scams before you pay, not after.
What ShopSherpa is
ShopSherpa is a free browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari that runs a safety scan on every store you visit and every seller you’re about to pay. It checks three things in real time:
Fake review detection. Product ratings on major marketplaces are frequently manipulated - paid reviewers, bot-generated text, incentivized ratings that don’t reflect real purchase experience. ShopSherpa analyzes review patterns as you browse and flags listings with suspicious activity before you rely on a compromised rating.
Seller credibility verification. On marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and independent sites, the seller behind a listing matters as much as the product. ShopSherpa evaluates seller account age, history signals, and known fraud indicators, flagging accounts that present meaningful risk.
Checkout domain monitoring. One of the most common vectors for payment fraud is the URL switch: a site looks legitimate until you reach checkout, where the payment form is hosted on a different, unfamiliar domain. ShopSherpa compares the active URL against the store you started on and alerts you immediately if something changes.
How it works
You install the extension once - 60 seconds, no account required. From that point, ShopSherpa runs in the background. No setup wizards. No manual checks. No constant notifications.
It surfaces an alert only when something looks wrong. When a seller has been flagged, you see it. When a checkout domain switches, you see it. When reviews show manipulation signals, you see it. When everything checks out, ShopSherpa stays invisible.
The design philosophy is deliberate: a tool that cries wolf on every purchase is useless. ShopSherpa aims to be the alert you actually trust because it doesn’t appear unless something warrants attention.
ShopSherpa Free vs ShopSherpa Plus
| Feature | Free | Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time review scanning | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fake seller detection | ✓ | ✓ |
| Wrong checkout domain alerts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Phishing Shield (Gmail + Outlook) | - | ✓ |
| Password Vault with breach alerts | - | ✓ |
| Masked Cards per merchant | - | ✓ |
| iOS + Android app | - | ✓ |
The free tier is live now. ShopSherpa Plus launches Q3 2026 as a one-time $9.99 lifetime pre-order - no subscription, no recurring fees.
The Phishing Shield (Plus)
Shopping fraud doesn’t only happen on product pages. It arrives in your inbox first. A fake Amazon shipping alert, a spoofed PayPal notification, a package redelivery fee scam - these emails are often more convincing than the fraud that happens at checkout because they arrive in a context you already trust.
ShopSherpa Plus adds a Phishing Shield that scans incoming emails in Gmail and Outlook, checking sender domains, link destinations, and language patterns against a database of known phishing signatures. Suspicious emails are flagged before you open or click anything.
The Password Vault with breach alerts (Plus)
ShopSherpa Plus includes a password vault that stores credentials securely and monitors breach databases continuously. If your login information appears in a data breach, you’re alerted immediately - not weeks later when damage has already been done.
Masked Cards per merchant (Plus)
ShopSherpa Plus generates a unique virtual card number for each merchant. Your real card number is never exposed to any store. If one merchant’s payment system is compromised, only that virtual card is affected - your real card stays protected.
ShopSherpa’s roadmap
- Now: Free tier live on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari
- Q3 2026: Plus tier launches with Phishing Shield, Password Vault, Masked Cards, and iOS/Android apps
- Lifetime pre-order: $9.99, available now - price increases to subscription at launch
Join the waitlist and lock in the lifetime rate
Frequently asked questions about ShopSherpa
Is ShopSherpa free?
Yes. The free tier - review scanning, seller verification, checkout domain monitoring - is free for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari with no account required.
Does ShopSherpa track my browsing?
No. ShopSherpa operates without behavioral tracking and does not sell user data. It checks the pages you’re on for fraud signals; it does not record or share your browsing history.
Which browsers does ShopSherpa support?
Chrome, Firefox, and Safari for desktop. iOS and Android apps come with the Plus tier in Q3 2026.
How is ShopSherpa different from antivirus software?
Antivirus software protects your device from malware. ShopSherpa protects your shopping decisions from fraud - fake reviews, risky sellers, spoofed checkout pages, and phishing emails. They solve different problems and work well together.
What is ShopSherpa Plus and when does it launch?
ShopSherpa Plus is the paid tier launching Q3 2026 with Phishing Shield for Gmail and Outlook, a Password Vault with breach monitoring, per-merchant Masked Cards, and iOS/Android apps. It’s available as a one-time $9.99 lifetime pre-order now, before pricing shifts to a subscription at launch.