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Bot Order Shield

Pauses shipping on suspicious or bot orders and emails you, so you never ship to a fraudster. Never auto-cancels.

What it does: When Shopify finishes checking an order for fraud, this recipe looks for warning signs. If it finds one, it pauses shipping on the order, adds the tag bot-shield-review, and emails you. It never cancels or refunds anything. You decide.

Warning signs it checks: 1. Shopify says cancel or investigate the order. 2. A brand-new customer whose billing and shipping addresses don't match, on an order over $150. 3. The order name matches a known bot name (this year's fake-order wave used "James Anderson").

Why people want this: In 2026, store owners on r/shopify reported waves of fake accounts and orders under names like "James Anderson". Owners fear chargebacks: "a rate of 1.5% automatically triggers high risk + payout hold" (reddit.com/r/shopify/comments/1qwdbac).

Install in 3 steps

  1. Import. In Shopify, open the Flow app → Import → pick the .flow file you downloaded.
  2. Type your email once. Click Edit (top right), click the Send internal email box, and replace you@yourstore.com with your email. Click Save.
  3. Turn on. Click Turn on workflow, then Turn on.

That's it. You need Shopify Basic or higher. Flow is free.

What to do when you get an email

Open the order. Read the Fraud analysis box. If it looks fine, click Release hold. If it looks fake, click Cancel order and refund. Do it before you ship.

Limits

  • It waits for Shopify's fraud check, which can take a few minutes after the order.
  • It's a warning, not a guarantee. Some real customers will get flagged. That's why it pauses instead of cancelling.
  • Works with Shopify Payments risk checks. Other payment apps may not send a risk result.
  • Replaces our earlier draft high-risk-order-hold-alert (which only covered sign 1).

How you install it

Download, import, add your email, turn on. You download a Shopify Flow file, import it in Flow, type your email into the email step once (Shopify signs Flow files, so we can't prefill it), and turn it on. About 5 minutes. A manual step-by-step path is included too.

What it does

Pauses shipping on suspicious or bot orders and emails you, so you never ship to a fraudster. Never auto-cancels.

Who it's for

  • Shopify store owners who want this job off their plate
  • Beginners: every recipe has beginner, operator and technical paths

What you get

  • A ready-to-import Shopify Flow file (where available)
  • Step-by-step setup checklist written for beginners
  • Copy-paste settings (triggers, conditions, email text)
  • Store profile worksheet to tailor it to your store
  • Ready-to-use AI prompts
  • Verification test so you know it works
  • Troubleshooting guide
  • 12 months of updates and a 14-day 'it didn't run' refund

Setup time and cost

Setup: ~5 min. Platform: Shopify Flow (free). Price: $29 one-time, or included in All-Access.

FAQ

Is this an AI agent?

Not yet. It's an automation that runs on its own inside Shopify Flow. Real AI agents are coming as a premium tier.

Do I need to be technical?

No. Download, import, add your email, turn on.

What if it doesn't work in my store?

You're covered by a 14-day 'it didn't run' refund.

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