Browser Shield

A browser extension that checks the page you are on, while you are on it.

What it does

Browser Shield judges what a page is asking you to do next, such as entering a card number or a password, not only whether the site is known to be bad. When the request is risky, it warns you before you act.

How it works

Flggd Browser Shield

How it works. Turn your sound on.

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Read the transcript

A call from your bank's fraud team. Calm, helpful, in a hurry. They send you a page to confirm it's really you.

The page looks right. It asks for your password, then for the code that just arrived on your phone.

Your browser checks addresses against lists of known bad sites. This one was registered this morning, so it's on no list. Nothing stops you, and the code goes straight to the caller.

Now the same page, with Flggd Browser Shield: a Chrome extension that asks what this page wants you to do next, and whether that step carries risk.

It reads the page itself: the address, the forms, and where the links really lead. All on your own computer. Only one automatic lookup leaves it: how new the site is.

The next step is risky, so it warns you before you act: what it noticed, what the page wants, and a safer way forward. When it can tell which site is being copied, it shows the address you're on next to the one you meant.

Most of the time it says nothing, so when it speaks, it's worth reading. And silence is never a promise of safety.

The decision stays yours. Every warning asks if it looks right, and you can send a genuine site to a person at Flggd to review.

It's built for anyone being talked through a page on the phone: the bank asking you to log in, the tax office with a refund, the courier with a small fee. And for the family member who gets the call afterwards.

Flggd Browser Shield. A warning before the risky step, not a report after it.

Why a browser warning, when browsers already block bad sites?

Browsers check whether a site is on a list of known bad addresses. A scam site registered this morning is on no list. A scam on a trusted platform, such as a marketplace listing or a shared document, sits on an address nobody would block. Browser Shield asks a different question: what is this page asking you to do next, and is that safe?

What does it watch for?

The actions a scam needs from you:

  • signing in somewhere you did not choose to go;
  • paying, or typing in card details;
  • reading out or typing in a one-time code;
  • installing software that lets someone else control your computer;
  • calling a number the page gave you;
  • clicking a link that does not go where it says.

What happens when it warns you?

You see what Flggd noticed, what the page is asking you to do, and a safer way forward, usually to reach the organisation through an address you type yourself. If the page is copying a known brand, the warning shows the address you are on next to the one you probably meant. The decision stays yours: Browser Shield warns, it does not lock you out.

Why it stays quiet most of the time

A tool that interrupts constantly teaches people to click past it. Browser Shield reads what a page actually asks for, not the words on it. A page that mentions a bank is not pretending to be one. A page that says "we will send you a code" is the opposite of one that says "send us your code". So most pages pass in silence, and a warning, when it comes, is worth reading. Silence means no risky action was found on that page. It is not a certificate of safety.

What does it look at, and where?

The page in front of you: its address, its text, its buttons, its forms, and where its links really lead. The checking happens inside the extension, on your own computer. One lookup leaves your machine: the public registration record for the site's domain, to see how new it is.

What if it gets one wrong?

Every warning asks whether it looks right. Tell it why it is wrong in one tap. If you know a site is genuine, you can also send it to Flggd for a person to review.

Who it helps most

Anyone being talked through a page by someone on the phone: the "bank" asking you to log in, the "technician" asking you to install something, the "courier" asking for a small fee. And the family member who usually gets the call after it has gone wrong.

Scam types it acts on

Scam types this covers

Every example on this page is a real scam, recreated by Flggd
How we decide what is a scam