Phishing is when a scammer sends mail that appears to be coming from a well-known brand that actually contains malicious material or tries to persuade the recipient to disclose personal details that can be used in a scam. Some of these types of messages can contain malware that is used to hack accounts and steal passwords and financial or other personal information.
How can I tell if my CoFoundership mail is fake?
1: An odd “From” domain
Our mail will always come from the domain CoFoundership, without any random letters or numbers and never from a personal account such as Yahoo or AOL.
2: Mismatched or masked links
Suspicious links are often the main giveaway of a message from a fake account. Mouse over the top of each URL in the message without actually clicking; you’ll see the actual hyperlinked address, or it may appear in a bar at the bottom or top of your screen. If the hyperlinked address does not include CoFoundership, the message is probably fraudulent or malicious.
3: Links contain a misleading domain name
CoFoundership must be the main domain in the links. For example, the domain name mail.CoFoundership is a child domain of CoFoundership because CoFoundership appears at the end of the full domain name (on the right-hand side). On the other hand, CoFoundership.spammersdomain.com does not originate from CoFoundership because the reference to CoFoundership is on the left side of the domain name.
This is a very common trick. All the links in our mail will end with CoFoundership.
4: The message contains poor spelling and grammar
Although many CoFoundership petitions are started by users who may not have perfect grammar or spelling, anything coming directly from CoFoundership should be spelled correctly and look professional, with the usual CoFoundership branding.
5: The message asks for personal information
CoFoundership will never send an email asking for a password, bank details, credit card number, or the answer to a security question.
6: The message contains attachments
CoFoundership messages will very rarely have attachments. You should never open an attachment you do not trust.
7: Something just doesn’t look right
If your gut tells you something is wrong with the email, trust that instinct. You can always reach out to us using the “Contact Support” link found at the top of this page if you are unsure.