How you can protect yourself

With https://app.venturebacked.co and our Venture Backed app (coming soon), you can access your Venture Backed user account anytime, from almost anywhere. We use secure technology to protect your information, so you can feel safe interacting with and engaging on our platform.  

• Make sure you’re on https://app.venturebacked.co 

• Registered for a Venture Backed user account. 

• Download the Venture Backed app (coming soon)

Before you sign in, make sure you’re on the authentic Venture Backed website by checking your browser address bar to see if it has:

• A lock icon
• The Venture Backed logo
• https://venturebacked.co
• https://app.venturebacked.co 

This information might look different depending on the browser you’re using. When a third party has verified the site you’re trying to access, you’ll see a message on the site letting you know you’re on a verified website. You can view this message by clicking the lock icon next to the website URL. 

Think you’ve shared your personal information?

Sign in to https://app.venturebacked.co and check your user account information. If you notice suspicious activity in your user account, let us know right away. If you think you’ve mistakenly given out personal information (such as your username and password) in an email, text or website that might be fraudulent, contact us right away. We’ll help secure your account.

And, if you’ve shared your username or password with a person or a service you don’t feel secure about, change them anytime in “Profile & settings.”

You can also forward a suspicious email message to us at phishing@venturebacked.co. We’ll send you an automated response to let you know we got the message.

Protect yourself

You can protect yourself and your Venture Backed user account by recognizing and preparing for online threats. Here are a few ways to keep yourself and your business information safe:

Be careful about giving out your username and passwords.

Giving anyone access to your accounts can put your personal and business information at risk. This includes financial websites and apps that offer tools to help you manage your accounts, invest or prepare your taxes.

We work with some companies that allow you to enter credentials (such as accounting and banking credentials) directly into a secure Venture Backed system and/or window when creating Deal Rooms on our platform. It is your right, at any point, to remove access if you change your mind.

We continue to work with additional companies to provide that secure access. If you have given your Venture Backed username or password or any other sensitive credentials to a company that is not affiliated with and under the software security control of Venture Backed, you should: 

• Know and trust the company that’s asking for your credentials
• Learn about their security practices
• Know what they plan to do with your information
• Change your Venture Backed password or passwords which control other sensitive data of you and/or your business if you want to remove their access.
• Be creative with your password
• It’s important to use a highly secure password for all your sensitive accounts to include your Venture Backed user account. The most secure passwords combine letters, numbers and special characters. Never use your pet’s name, your child’s name or anything else that a fraudster could easily find out, like your address, phone number or birth date. For added security, remember to change your password regularly, and avoid using the same password for multiple sites.

We also recommend using an email provider that asks you to verify your identity in multiple steps.

Be careful on social media

It’s better to be cautious about the information you share on social media. Don’t use information from your social media account for your password.

Take control

We make our products and services secure, but there are things you can do to keep your accounts safe, too:

• Don’t give your Venture Backed user account credential or any personal, business or financial information on the phone unless you initiate the conversation and you know the person or organization.
• Don’t give personal information to any stranger, even someone claiming to be from Venture Backed.
• Tell us right away if you get any suspicious phone inquiries asking for your personal, business or Venture Backed user account information, or if you see anything suspicious in your Venture Backed user account activity.
• If you use https://app.venturebacked.co or the Venture Backed app (coming soon) in public or on a public or shared computer, make sure you sign out when you’re done, and delete all cookies.
• Be careful when you use your device in public areas. Watch out for anyone looking to see what you’re doing.
• Don’t be fooled
• Phishing is when an imposter tries to trick you into providing your personal information. They might impersonate us in an email, phone call or text, asking you to confirm your information or saying you’ve won something—and it might look legitimate. A few examples:

You get an email that appears to be from a reputable company you know or do business with, like us. The email asks you to reply or go to a website that looks like https://app.venturebacked.co, where you’ll be asked to give your Venture Backed username, password, or other personal or business information.

You get a voice mail or text message telling you your Venture Backed user account will be closed, frozen or terminated unless you call or go to a website, where you’ll be asked to give personal or business information.

Scams often try to create a feeling of urgency or alarm, by threatening to close off an account, or offering a security update—as soon as you provide your personal or business information. A few more common culprits are emails, phone calls or text messages that:

• Require you to give personal, business or user account information directly on the email or on a website; some fraudsters use pop-up windows to ask for confidential information.
• Threaten to close or suspend your user account if you don’t take immediate action.
• Invite you to answer a survey that asks for personal, business or user account information.
• Say your account has been hacked, then asks for personal, business or user account information.
• Tell you there are unauthorized charges on your account, then asks for personal, business or user account information.
• Ask you to confirm, verify or update your user account or billing information.
• Ask you to provide user account information because someone wants to send you money.
• Claim you’re getting a refund.
• Say you’ve won a contest.

If you think you’ve received a suspicious email but you haven’t acted on it, please forward it to phishing@venturebacked.co. 

Learn how to spot suspicious emails

Think before you open

Don’t open an email attachment, even if it appears to be from a friend or co-worker, unless you’re expecting it or you’re absolutely sure you know what it contains.

Watch out for email subject lines or emails with a generic message like “check this out” or “thought you’d be interested in this.” Make sure you know who sent the email before you open an attachment or click any links.

Protect your equipment

Install anti-virus and firewall software on your computer and keep it up to date.

Be cautious about offers for free anti-virus software; make sure you get your software from a reputable company. Look for anti-virus software that scans incoming communications and files for viruses, removes or quarantines viruses and updates automatically.

A firewall is software or hardware designed to block unauthorized access to your computer. It’s especially important to run a firewall if you have a cable modem or DSL line or other broadband connection, because they’re targeted often. Many current operating systems come with a built-in firewall, which you have to turn on.

Safeguard your business

If you own a business, it’s important to:

• Maintain appropriate internal controls, including separation of duties. For example, be sure that the people who reconcile accounts are different from the people who make payments.
• Periodically assess your risk and evaluate your internal controls, including reviewing your users and the permissions you give them. Your system administrator can establish user permissions and online transaction limits for each of your users.
• Regularly check your transactions and statements for any unauthorized activity.