Recap: Read our Live Q&A about email and account security

[Tom]

On Friday, December 6th, we hosted a Live Q&A about email security right here on this thread. We wanted to surface this topic during the holiday season as fraudsters up their attempts to trick people into providing their personal information. This can look like a fake charity account, a phishing scam, or a bogus online order form.

But worry not—we've got your back! We featured an expert in the field of email and account security, @stephenmartin, who offered guidance on how to protect yourself online. With over nine years of experience at an email company prior to joining the team at Square, he offered resources and insight so you can go forth with confidence. 📧🔒💳

Here are some example questions: 

• I received an order confirmation email with an attachment on it—how do I know if it's safe to open?
• I was directed to a different website to complete an online gift purchase—how do I know for sure that it's safe to enter my credit card and billing information?
• I think my information was hacked. What do I do now?
• What is an email phishing scam?

⬇ Check out the recap in the Best Answer below for more details. ⬇

[Adimery]

I received a email from square notifying me that they are going to  take money from my bank account without any explanation. 

[stephenmartin]

If you suspect this email is a phishing attempt, you’ll need to log into your Square account online and navigate to Transfer Reports. You’ll be able to verify all of your bank account transfer activity from your Square Dashboard.

[Celine1]

I have always received an e-mail notification the next business day, of "Square has sent you $----"  But now I no longer receive notifications of the amount that has been deposited in my account.  Why is that happening?

[stephenmartin]

@Celine1 There are a few reasons this might be happening covered here: Email Delivery Issues. The first thing you’ll want to do is log into your account and be sure your email address is correct and you’ve selected the notifications you’d like to receive from Square. You can also check your spam folder, as you may have inadvertently marked a previous email as spam. And finally, you can set up filters and/or labels with your email client to help prioritize the emails in your inbox.

[plm1937]

YES, I HAVE A QUESTION I HAVE THE OLD CARD SWIPE WHAT DO I NEED TO UP GRADE MY SQUARE ACCOUNT I HAVE HAD THE OLD SYSTEM FOR 10 YEARS THANKS

[stephenmartin]

@plm1937 Hi! It sounds like you need an updated reader. More information on how to receive a new reader can be found here: Get a Free Square Magstripe Reader, or you could purchase a Square reader for Contactless and Chip so you can accept chip cards and NFC (like Apple Pay/Google Pay) payments.

We also recommend making sure you’re running the latest version of the Square Point of Sale app on your device — this ensures you have the latest fixes and features! Check the App Store or Google Play Store for an update: Update Your App. 

[Sunrisetax]

Hi how are you guys are doing ? I would like to know what the limite on one transaction? 

[stephenmartin]

@sunrise  Hi! Thanks for your question. All Square Sellers have a per transaction limit of $50,000. More information about this limit and best practices can be found here: Best Practices for Accepting Card Payments.

[Knightmdn]

I received an email stating that nearly a thousand dollars is going to be refunded to someone. I have never used square, hopefully I can get a copy of it pasted here! 

[Information Redacted] | [Information Redacted]

Unsubscribe [Information Redacted]@yahoo.com Update Profile | About Constant Contact Sent by [Information Redacted]@yahoo.com in collaboration with

Try email marketing for free today!

[stephenmartin]

@Knightmdn If you’ve never used Square, this is most likely a phishing attempt or a spam message. Please send the email to spoof@squareup.com so we can investigate. For more context, have a look at this Support Center article: Recognize and Report Phishing Scams.

[Poesy70]

[This question was merged from a discussion on a similar topic: Received email from " SquareINC" customer refund, possible scam?]

Ok so I have received 3 of these lately. The first freaked me out,  said it was issuing a refund for an amount I never charged. I reported it to spoof team. Second one, yesterday, didn't mention Square but was demanding a refund for that same amount, which was never charged. That  one said it was from ConstantContact (who I don't use) , but referenced the same email address as the one from months ago. And I JUST received a third one, from Square, supposedly. Different amount but again, an amount  I have never charged. And this one uses the "right" email address (noreply@messaging.squareup.com). I'm very confused. And nervous. I sent it to spoof (again). Any ideas/suggestions appreciated.

[stephenmartin]

@Poesy70 Thank you for forwarding these emails to Square. It’s not uncommon for an attacker to send the same email, in an attempt to get the recipient to click through. If you’re ever in doubt about an email you receive, open your browser and manually navigate to Square (https://squareup.com/dashboard/) and log into your account. Financial activity is always recorded in your account, where you’ll be able to verify.

[JW2019]

[This question was merged from a discussion on a similar topic: Does Square ever have you open an email from Square Services?]

Is an email coming from Square services a scam

[stephenmartin]

@JW2019 Hi, are you referring to an email from Square Secure? If so, this article will have more detail on why you’re receiving the email and what types of content you can expect to read about in it: Square Secure Information Requests FAQ. When in doubt, as we’ve mentioned, visit the Square Dashboard in a web browser. Notices and alerts about your account can be found there.

[stephenmartin · Accepted solution]

Thank you for raising your questions! To recap the themes that we discussed, please keep the following information in mind.

✔️ Stay Calm

If an email catches you by surprise, don’t panic! Take a breath and visit your Square Dashboard. The online Square Dashboard is the source of truth for all of your account information.

Phishing emails are becoming increasingly good at impersonating real companies and organizations. The tools to create professional emails are widely accessible and the content is meant to alarm you. The scammers want to encourage you to take an action without second guessing the sender. Taking a few minutes to breath and analyze an email will help you identify phishing attempts.

🔎 How to Spot Fake Emails

Common themes phishing emails use:

• Noticing account activity or issues with your account that require your immediate attention
• Links that mention you'll need to "log in" to confirm something, receive something, or cancel something
• Free items and services or too-good-to-be-true discounts

Something else to keep in mind: scammers love holidays. You’ll most likely see an influx in phishing attempts, spam emails, and even phone calls on or before holiday. A way scammers will try to remove friction is getting you to take action when you are most distracted.

An email that's missing key personal information like your first name, contains spelling errors, or contains grammar errors is a high indicator that the email is not real. As we've mentioned before, Square will not ask for sensitive information in an email. We'll always direct you to log in to your account or contact our Square Customer Success team.

🔒 Protect Your Account

One of the ways you can protect your Square account is by enabling 2-Factor Authentication. This extra layer of security requires a code to be confirmed by an application or through a text message.

Unfortunately, phishing emails are difficult to completely block. Some email application filters (like GMail) are sophisticated enough to catch and mark these emails as spam. If something seems suspicious, don’t hesitate to take the extra steps to log into your account or reach out to Square Support. If you think you’ve received a phishing email, you can always forward it to spoof@squareup.com before you delete it so we can investigate.

[RRNF]

I receieved an Email regarding NEGATIVE FEEDBACK on SQUARE. came from shortfuzebiz@gmail.com 

Gave me a fake square dashboard and almost tricked me into signing my password away.

[EileenC]

I received an email stating that they were unhappy with my service but did not leave a name, so I have no idea who it was.   It had a button that said, please respond.  I didn't click on it.  Is there any other way to check that this was sent by a legitimate customer?  I went to my dashboard under feedback, and there were wasn't any.

Eileen