Scammers impersonating corporate services providers are increasingly sophisticated. The clearest defence against impersonation is knowing exactly what Cosmos will, and will not, ever ask of you. This article is short on purpose: it is worth knowing the list by heart.

Not by email, not on a call, not in chat, not ever. Cosmos does not need your password to help you with anything, including a problem you are having logging in. If anyone claiming to be Cosmos asks for your password, it is not Cosmos.

A genuine Cosmos message about something time-sensitive will be in context, sent during normal working hours, and traceable to a conversation you recognise. A message that arrives out of the blue, telling you that you must act now or lose access, pay a fine, or confirm details immediately, is the classic shape of a scam. Stop, do not click, and check with us directly.

Cosmos invoices are issued and paid by card, through Stripe. Cosmos will never ask you to pay by cryptocurrency, gift cards, money transfer services, or by wire to a new or unfamiliar bank account at short notice. If you receive a new payment instruction claiming to be from Cosmos, verify it with us through the chat before doing anything.

Real payments are made through Stripe's secure payment page. We do not collect full card numbers by email or chat, and we never need your online banking password.

If you are speaking to a real member of the team, you will know their name and you will have come to that conversation from a previous one. Cosmos will not contact you out of the blue asking you to install remote-access software or hand over control of your screen.

The team would always rather you check than guess. If anything claiming to be Cosmos asks you to do something on this list, write to us in the chat, and we will tell you straight away whether it is genuine.