I received this email this morning.
Now the conference is real, the organisation mentioned in the email is real, and one of the people mentioned in the email has spoken internationally on HIV/AIDS in Africa.
However, the address for the organisation mentioned appears to be incorrect as does the email, of the three people mentioned I’ve been able to discover no mention in connection with the organisation, although I’ve found one of the names on a version of the Nigerian scam, which may just be coincidence.
It is also odd that the email was sent to my colleague and myself, since we’ve out-sourced the organisation of the conference, and all promotional material for the conference has those contact details on them, not ours. Nor is an invitation necessary to attend the conference, registration information, including methods of payment are clearly displayed on the conference website.
I also found the emphasis on a signed invitation by mail unusual. So while I have no wish to deprive the delegates of a worthy NGO of the opportunity to attend the conference, I’m pretty suspicious of the email. I imagine that if I respond to this email, the next would be some version of the overpayment scam.
I thought I’d email the head of the named organisation attaching the email and giving her the registration details for the conference. If the email is the real thing then that’s all good, if not, then she gets a heads-up that her organisation’s name is being taken in vain.
Anyone come across this version of the scam or do I just have a nasty suspicious mind?
(I’ve deleted all the names and the name of the relevant organisation, on the off-chance that this is a real email.)