Verify Addresses When Sending Confidential Materials
When providing Interfolio with an email address or mailing address where confidential materials will be sent, responsible steps are taken by Interfolio to verify that those materials stay confidential from the recipient when sent to that address. This is called Verifying an Address. Obviously, there is a limit to how certain Interfolio can be. Ultimately, Interfolio cannot control what the receiver does with the confidential materials. What can be done is take responsible steps to indicate the confidentiality of the materials and exercise discretion when sending them out.
Verify Address
Answer questions
To verify an address for delivery of confidential materials, four questions must be answered:
- Is it an address to which the user has access?
- Interfolio may need documentation. For example, if it is an email address or Post Office box, Interfolio may need to see some external documentation, such as a website or email correspondence (either forwarded or as screenshots), showing that the email address or PO box is affiliated with an institution or organization.
- Does the individual or organization on the receiving end plan to keep those materials confidential from the user?
- If Interfolio can verify that the address is the publicly designated email or mailing address for a documented institution or organization (for example admissions@brown.edu), then the documents can generally be sent.
- Is it an address that you are sending to yourself or a relative?
- If so, confidential letters cannot be sent to yourself or addresses that are unable to be verified.
- Is the institution/business an apartment or home address?
- If so, Interfolio will need proof of documentation, a job advertisement, or email correspondence to prove that the confidential letters are being sent to an official address.
Provide Website
When creating an email delivery, a website can be provided for verification. The website should show the destination address and link it with the destination institution or organization. If that webpage is provided and Interfolio approves it, the delivery will be sent out. If the address entered from the webpage cannot be verified, Interfolio will then search the web. If a webpage is found that clearly indicates that confidential materials may be sent to the destination address, then the delivery will be sent out.
If a web page that enables Interfolio to verify the address is not found, then Interfolio will ask to be provided with one of the following:
- A web page affiliated with the institution that displays the destination address
- Email correspondence (directly forwarded or as a complete screenshot) that clearly indicates that confidential letters of recommendation may be sent to this email address
- Some contact information for the receiver, which Interfolio will use to verify the destination address
Successful Verification
If the address is successfully verified using one of these methods, then the materials will be sent. An email notification will be received when the delivery is sent.
In some situations, the receiver might provide us with a different or corrected address, instead of the exact address entered. Interfolio will always check before a change is made to the destination address.