Hello, all!
Today I received a phishing spam email, and I thought I'd share it with you so you can be aware of phishing attempts like this.
This particular scam invites you to a conference event which does not actually exist. (In this case, the scam goes so far as to have bare-bones websites representing the supposed conference-sponsoring organization and conference hotel.)
Here are some of the clues that it's a scam:
- The email address and the name of the supposed sender don't match
- The sender uses a generic salutation, instead of your name
- The text contains numerous spelling and grammar errors
- The email contains vague information instead of specifics (the conference will be "taking place...in the conference place in Texas, USA"; "the symposium meeting will contain various talks on...Challenges.")
- The email offers you something for free (here, airline tickets)
- The email suggests that, to get that free thing, you will have to pay for something else or provide extensive personal information (here, hotel stays and personally-identifying documents)
- The contact information the sender provides is an email accounted hosted by a free or anonymous email service (here, zoho.com). (Scammers use these services so they can easily hide their identities.)
- The sender provides very little personal contact information (here, no personal email address, phone number, social media account...). If they do provide contact information, it may also be hosted by a free or anonymous email service.
If you google "Human Rights International Organization," you'll see that this scam campaign has actually set up a bare-bones website, as well. Like the email, the website contains many grammar and spelling errors, no staff-specific contact information, none of the online forms and payment processing you would expect to see on a legitimate organizational website, and a pitch for "visa processing" which asks that you send the scammers a long list of personal information and documents.
They've also created a fake hotel website for "booking." It has the same warning signs as the fake organization website. You can also google the supposed hotel's name and see that it's mentioned nowhere else online (no Yelp reviews, Google reviews, no tourism sites mentioning it).
This scam doesn't specifically target ASA members, but I thought you might like a look at some of the points that indicate something might be a scam! You can learn more about how to report scams here:
https://www.usa.gov/stop-scams-frauds#item-35157- Lara
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Lara Harmon
Marketing and Online Community Coordinator
American Statistical Association
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