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How to verify an email is really from Me Journal

Phishing emails are designed to look like the real thing. Here's the one-step check that lets you spot a fake every time.

🛡️ Me Journal will ALWAYS greet you with your chosen nickname

When you signed up, we asked you to pick a security nickname (something like "Future Me", "Sunshine 42", or whatever you chose). Every email we send you opens with "Hi {your nickname},".

If an email claims to be from Me Journal but doesn't greet you with your specific nickname, it's not us — it's a phishing attempt. Delete it.

Why this is more reliable than checking the sender address

Attackers buy lists of leaked email addresses from data breaches at other companies (LinkedIn, Adobe, MyFitnessPal, and hundreds more). Those lists usually include your real name too.

They use that to send emails like:

❌ Phishing example
From: Me Journal <security@me-jou rn al.com>
Subject: Urgent: verify your account

Hi [your real name from a leaked database],

We detected suspicious activity on your account. Click here to verify…

That email could use your real name because the attacker bought it. They cannot know your Me Journal nickname — because you picked it after signing up, and we never share it with anyone.

So a real email from us looks like this:

✅ Real Me Journal email
From: Me Journal <hello@me-journal.com>
Subject: Your weekly synthesis is waiting

Hi Sunshine 42,

Your weekly reflection is ready…

What to do when an email looks suspicious

  1. Check the greeting. Does it use your Me Journal nickname? If yes → real. If it uses your real name (or no name at all) → likely phishing.
  2. Don't click links in the email. Open me-journal.com in your browser directly and sign in there.
  3. Forward the suspicious email to support@me-journal.com so we can warn other users + work with the sender's email provider to shut down the attack.
  4. Delete it.

Edge cases

What if I receive an email that says "Hi there,"?

Some of our older communications (sent before you set your nickname, or to users who haven't set one yet) start with a generic "Hi there". That's still a real email from us — but you should set your nickname now from Account Settings → Security nickname so every future email is unambiguous.

What if I forgot my nickname?

Sign in at me-journal.com and visit Account Settings → Security nickname — it's shown there.

Can I change my nickname?

Yes, any time, from Account Settings → Security nickname. The change applies immediately to all future emails. Old emails in your inbox will still show the previous nickname (we can't update what's already been sent).

What if I accidentally shared my nickname publicly?

Just pick a new one — the old one's protection value is gone but changing immediately restores it. We strongly recommend NOT mentioning your Me Journal nickname publicly (don't post it on social media, don't share with anyone except those who explicitly need to know).

Still suspicious? Email us at support@me-journal.com with the suspicious message attached.

See also: Privacy Policy · Security Statement