UMBC alumni businesses are doing what they can to stay strong and build community during these troubled times. UMBC Magazine will be publishing occasional interviews with alumni business owners to show their resilience in the face of this global pandemic.

Find more alumni businesses at the UMBC Alumni Business Directory.

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Powered by a number of UMBC alumni, Fearless is a digital services firm in Baltimore. Partner John Foster ’04, computer engineering, tells us about the ways the company is giving back, and what it means to thoroughly understand the “why” of what you do.

Can you tell us a little bit about what you do? What’s your favorite part of the work?

I manage the day-to-day operation at Fearless. We are a full-stack digital services firm in Baltimore that delivers sleek, modern, and user-friendly software designed to push the boundaries of possibility. It’s our mission to build software with a soul–tools that empower communities and make a difference–so we can create a world where good software powers the things that matter. As one of Fearless’ earliest team members, I’ve seen the company from many different perspectives, first as a software engineer then moving into executive team roles as Fearless has become a company of 100+ people. 

How do you connect your work back to your experience at UMBC? 

Fearless has many UMBC alumni. CEO Delali Dzirasa ’04, computer engineering, is a Retriever and we used to joke that a prerequisite for working at Fearless was a UMBC degree.  Candace Campbell ’19, computer science, is a DevOps engineer working on solutions for the Small Business Administration in the midst of COVID19.

In these tough times, how do you keep going? What inspires you?

Simon Sinek often talks about starting with “why” as the root for anything you want to do in life that has purpose. For Fearless that “why” is our Culture, Customers, and Community. So connecting our employees “why” to our customers and community “why” keeps us going. Knowing that our people really want to make an impact in the world and finding ways to do that for our customers and community is all inspiring and keeps Fearless moving forward.

Are there specific ways you’re giving back to the community right now? Tell us about it!

Giving back has always been an important part of Fearless. Throughout the year we partner with nonprofits and other organizations in Baltimore that help Baltimore City students. We like to be the first people to raise our hand. Help is needed in our city. Now that is more important than ever. We are working with our community partners to identify their needs and how best we can serve them and the people they work with. Fearless has also launched a community hours initiative, where team members get eight hours of paid time for volunteering and other community service projects. Team members are using the time now to sew mask covers for healthcare workers and others are donating blood to the American Red Cross. It’s a small gesture but we also bought coffee for all of the hospitals in COVID-19 testing sites in Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery is the site of our second office and even though we can’t be with our Southern team right now, we want them to know we support them and the city.

What advice would you give to others looking to start their own business?

Businesses are formed in their owners’ and founders’ image. For the best businesses, that image is rooted deeply in a person’s “why.” Before you take even the smallest of baby steps be certain that your passion translates into your personal “why.” By doing so, it will get you through the rough times or times where you doubt yourself.

Header image: Foster, at right. Images courtesy of John Foster.

Email Attacks

Tripwire has released an article warning of these COVID-19 related email scams. The article can be found at this link: https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-awareness/covid-19-scam-roundup-may-4-2020/

(FAKE) Failed Delivery Notice

They report on a finding from Kaspersky Labs, where they warn of a spam email campaign informing recipients that a delivery attempt had failed because their shipment details were incorrect and the reader needs to update their details. An image of a receipt is included in the message.  The receipt is too small to read easily, so the recipient will probably click on it for a better look. Clicking on the attachment will load spyware onto the user's device.

(FAKE) Donation to WHO

A malicious actor sent out emails urging recipients to consider donating to the World Health Organization. The email has a from address of “support@covid-19[.]world” and includes a link at the bottom saying “Help Us Fight”.  Clicking the link will take the reader to a malicious domain help-who[.]com. For readers to donate they must click on the embedded link which allows the malicious actors to steal the reader’s payment information.

(FAKE) Update to Family and Medical Leave Act

Finally the article reports that IBM X-Force discovered a phishing email campaign that seemed to be from the US Department of Labor. The email states they have made changes to the “Family and Medical Leave of Act” as a result of COVID-19. This email then asks readers to review the attached word document. The attachment will install malware which puts the reader’s computer under the control of a botnet.

The UMBC Division of Information Technology received notification of a new job scam variant on 08may2020.  The subject is: UMBC COVID-19 INFORMATION

From: Koyepes Michael <michaelkoyepes199@gmail.com>

Date: Fri, May 8, 2020 at 9:54 AM

Subject: UMBC COVID-19 INFORMATION

Dear students,

University of Maryland, Baltimore County health professionals have been closely monitoring the spread of COVID-19 over the past two months.Therefore the university is organizing an online part time job to sustain the students living.I'm happy to inform you that our reputable company CORESTAFF SERVICES Inc®,is currently running a student empowerment program.

    KINDLY EMAIL BACK WITH YOUR  PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS IF INTERESTED IN THIS JOB POSITION.

Kind Regards

Koyepes Michael

HR Manager/Consultant

CORESTAFF SERVICES Inc®

This is a scam!  DO NOT REPLY TO IT!

A reply confirms that your UMBC email address is active.  That is an invitation to get more spam.  You are also asked to provide your personal address.  That’s two addresses for spamming.   You may then be asked to fill out a form with personal information which can then be added to your email address.  That means, at least, that the spam can be targeted to you.  If you provide information such as your birthdate, address, or social security number, the information can also be used for identity theft.  

Even if you are tempted to send the scammer a hostile, insulting message,

DO NOT REPLY!

You will not hurt the scammer’s feelings.  You will simply provide information about yourself directly or indirectly.

E-mail fraud is in the rise. The Division of Information Technology is tracking it. If you get suspicious email, please forward it to security@umbc.edu. If you are not sure whether it is suspicious, forward it anyway. We will investigate it and get back to you.