With the 2023 ACPC just 2 weeks away, attendees should be aware of a common scam targeting the events industry involving fraudulent emails claiming to offer for sale “attendee lists” and other information.
Please note that the ACPC is not sending these communications, nor are the senders affiliated with the ACPC. Please also note that the ACPC’s IT systems have not been compromised, and the email addresses included in disseminations have not been obtained from the ACPC. The emails are part of a phishing scam.
For more information on this scam, including how your email may have become included on a distribution list of this kind, see “An Investigation into Fake List Vendors” from industry publication Trade Show News Network. You can also search Attendee List Sales Scam and see how many associations are posting warnings about this on their websites.
FRAUDULENT EMAIL SAMPLE
Note, in the below sample message, the poor grammar and no cost information. Also, be on the lookout for senders using free email services (such as Gmail), have misspelt domain names in their address, or “work for a company” that simply does not exist. Avoid clicking any suspicious hyperlinks or downloading attachments from emails of this nature. Do not follow any direction to “opt out” which requires replying to the sender.
Subject: Air Carriers Purchasing Conference – 2023
Hi,
Would you like to purchase attendee’s contacts for “Air Carriers Purchasing Conference – 2023” (Will include last minute registrants and walk-ins).
Data Fields: – Company Name, Physical Address, Contact Name, Job Titles, Verified Email Addresses, Phone Numbers that enables multi-channel marketing and many…,
If yes, reply: Send Counts & Costs. I’ll be glad to help you with more information.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best Regards,
Audience Development