Suspicious Email From Startengine

[TCBronson]

WARNING! I just got an email asking me to send a copy of my SS card from supposedly the folks at Startengine. No I did not comply to this email.

Rosie (StartEngine Support)

Jan 22, 10:19

Hello Tom,

Your investment in Elio Motors requires more information in order to be completed. When filling out the investment forms, you have listed information that needs to be updated or verified.

IN ORDER TO COMPLETE YOUR INVESTMENT: Please submit the following information:

A copy or scan or your SSN Card. We were not able to verify the SSN that you provided during the investment process. Therefore, we need you to verify your information using a photocopy or scan of your Social Security Card. The copy must then be sent as a reply to this email or to Contact@StartEngine.com for processing.

Failure to provide this information will result in your investment not being completed. If you believe that you have received this email in error or have any questions, please contact a StartEngine team member at contact@startengine.com or via our green chat/help icon at the bottom right corner of any StartEngine page.

Best,

The StartEngine Team

 

[IdahoDuffer]

I received a similar email and like you was very skeptical. I replied that I was not comfortable sending a copy of my card and asked if they could elaborate on the issue. Turns out that my dyslexia caused me to reverse two of the numbers in my SS# and the number they had did not match my bank account. I was able to clear it up in a couple of days by talking with them. Your situation may be very similair. I will see if I have a copy of the email to post on here.

Best of luck.

 

[IdahoDuffer]

Here is the email I received after sending them the numbers that needed corrected. I was cleared shortly after that.

Hi Scott,

It's no trouble. We will attempt to run the corrected number. If we are unable to verify it, we will let you know and at that point we would need a copy of the SS card. Hopefully that will not be necessary. Please expect your investment to clear within 10 days if there are no issues with the SSN number. If there is a problem, we will be in touch.



Regards,
The StartEngine Team

 

[IdahoDuffer]

I guess my first email was a little different then hours, but they were very easy to work with. Here is my email asking for my SS again.

Hi Scott,

Apologies, the error regarding your account was due to our inability to verify the SSN listed on the account. Can you please supply us with you SSN again. We will compare it to the one you submitted to make sure it was input correctly. If it was, we will contact you with instructions as to how to verify it with us. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Regards,
The StartEngine Team

 

[TCBronson]

I have never been asked to "send a copy" of my SS card. I verified that the funds had already been transferred out of my credit union account.

 

[TCBronson]

I logged in to Startengine and sent them a copy of the email, we'll see what happens.

 

[NSTG8R]

I logged in to Startengine and sent them a copy of the email, we'll see what happens.

Better safe than sorry!

 

[Rob Croson]

A good way to protect yourself against possible phishing scams is to not reply,follow any links, or use any contact information from the email they send you. Go back to the company's web site, get the contact info from there, and contact them yourself. That way you are using the company's published contact info, and not some possible scam link from a fake email. Sounds like exactly what you did, which was the perfect way to respond.

 

[TCBronson]

I got a response back from Startengine and it was a legit email. I just couldn't imagine someone asking me to send a copy of my SS card.

 

[slinches]

That's good to know it was legit and that the contact info we've given is likely secure. It's still probably a good idea for anyone getting similar emails to verify with StartEngine independently, just to be safe.