Help / Account and security

Stay safe from fake emails

What the safety note above an email means, and what to do about it.

Some emails pretend to be from a person or a company you know. They want your money or your password. uMail checks every email you open. When something looks wrong, it shows a note above the message.

The two kinds of note

• Be careful with this email: uMail found a reason to doubt the sender. Read the reasons before you do anything.
• First email from this sender: you have never written to this address, so uMail cannot tell if it is someone new or someone fake. This is only a reminder.

What uMail looks for

• The sender's company did not confirm the email. The email says it is from one company, but that company's own checks failed.
• A familiar name with a different address. For example, the name is a colleague, but the address is a free Gmail address.
• A lookalike address. For example, acrne.et instead of acme.et. Two letters like r and n can look like one letter m.
• Words about money, like bank account, transfer or urgent, together with one of the signs above.

What to do

1. Do not click links and do not open attachments yet.
2. Look at the address in the grey line under the name. Check every letter.
3. If the email asks for money or a new bank account, call the sender on a number you already have. Do not use a number from the email.
4. If it is fake, choose Report spam. uMail moves it to the Spam folder.
5. If you know the sender and the email is fine, choose It is safe. The note does not come back for that address.

No company changes its bank account by a single email. Always check by phone first.

uMail can miss a fake email, and it can doubt a real one. The note helps you decide. The decision is yours.