What happened to my email
It arrived and is being held. Nothing has been read or forwarded. The notice you received contains a link to a page showing your subject line, the deposit, and the refund terms.
What happens if I pay
Your message is delivered to their inbox immediately, with a short note saying you paid a deposit. If they refund it, usually because they replied and wanted to hear from you, the money goes back to your card less card processing, and you're let straight through from then on.
What happens if I don't
Nothing. The message is deleted at the end of the hold period and you won't hear from Franked again about it.
Where unrefunded deposits go
To the charity the recipient chose, shown on the payment page. Recipients never keep deposits. How donations work.
Is this legitimate?
Check that the link starts with https://franked.email/pay/. Payment runs through Stripe Checkout. Franked never asks for card details by email, and never charges you anything except the deposit shown on the page.
Why ask for a deposit at all?
Because inboxes are drowning in messages sent to thousands of people at once, increasingly by AI agents. A deposit costs a real person a few dollars once, and makes mass sending expensive. Why this became necessary.