Is this a scam?

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Not quite a Newb Joined: 23 Jun 2010 Posts: 24

Hi every body Very Happy

Since signed the guestbook i've been getting loooads of emails from scammers into my catcher email - This morning I got this one twice, I did a search on MCHE CDPH, but no results.

I'm not sure if its a scam or not the fact that they don't have a proper email is a bit of a give away but thats all I have to go on and I don't want to start annoying them unless I know for sure

Full View(MCHE CDPH) INVITATION
From: Isabella Anderson <[email protected]>Add to Contacts
To:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Friend,

Am Isabella Anderson, a staff of Global child health care organization (GCHCO) we are organizing an international conference on Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology / Child Development and Public Health (MCHE CDPH) 2010, taking place from 21st - 24th September 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia USA and from 27th - 30th September in Saint-Louis Senegal.

If you are interested to participate and want to represent your country, you may contact the secretariat of the organizing committee by email ([email protected]) for more information.

You may get back to me with my email address below.
[email protected]

Sincerely
Isabella Anderson

Master Baiter Joined: 28 Sep 2009 Posts: 100

Hi Guys, This probably is. I'm a medical docotr and have been to a lot of conferences. I have never, ever seen invites sent randomly to email addresses. I've responded and will most likley be asked to pay a fee to attend. These guys are certainly getting more sophisticated.

Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:28 am

I would say , most definitely yes.

123mail.cl is a mail address for Chile. Why would someone invite you to a conference in the USA and Senegal from Chile?
Look up Country_code_top-level_domain in wikipedia.

Also the e-mail they ask you to respond to is obviously made up as well. All organizations provide contact details and other verifiable stuff.
I have had some conference spam but you can tell it's spam as it's pretty obvious the conference is legit and also a topic that I might actually be interested in. As they might have got my real e-mail from a proper source such as a Technical website.

Maybe the mass bait guys might want a go at it.

Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:31 am

Of course it is. To book your seat or a hotel, you have to pay an advance fee.

Oh, many funny group baits have been made here in the past of these "conference scams". One "Youth conference" one went over many pages Smile

Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:38 am

As Frumpy says, it is a Conference Scam - you can see another example, and read a little about 'what happens next' in the scam here:

http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7949&p=26508

Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:51 am

Yes, most definatly a conference scam. This one is about for a while already. Straight bait them and try to get as many bank accounts as you can. We have been busy with these conference scams for a while now. If you come across a fake website thei're using, please PM the website to Nigel tuffnell or me, and we make sure it gets killed.

Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 9:59 am

As with many conference scams they have based their fake conference on something real. You didn't find any web information by searching for MCHE CDPH because they combined an existing event with a nonexistent one (or at least one I didn't find in a couple of web searches).

Check out the real announcement for MCHE (which I found by searching conference "Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology"), for example, to see how a real conference looks (complete with solid web presence, in this case based at a .gov website, etc):
LINK

Not quite a Newb Joined: 23 Jun 2010 Posts: 24

Hi guys, thanks for the replies (ooh it rhymes!)

Aha, I see, Thanks for the link Branwen, also had a look on wilkipedia Country_code_top-level_domain, thanks for that wowow.

If anyone wants to have a go or get a mass bait thing going on you are welcome, i'll post this in the surplus letters.

I've got 4 idiots that i'm dealing with at the moment and I don't think I could do it justice anyway.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 23 Jun 2010 Posts: 24

the vampire, firehouse5, I must have cross posted.

Firehouse5, thanks for the link

the vampire, i'll respond, say i'm interested and ask to see their official website....if I find anything i'll pm you

Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 10:37 am

Just one side note in response to this point:

Quote:

Why would someone invite you to a conference in the USA and Senegal from Chile?

Although this is a decent warning sign when coupled with other indicators of scamness (ie free email provider etc etc), info about real international conferences is often circulated by various people who may not be based in any of the actual countries. For example I'm on a programme committee for a (real, non-scam) research conference that's being held in Italy, along with colleagues in many other non-Italian countries. And I have sent out an announcement to my work-related contact list, some of whom I don't know very well at all. Who in turn may circulate the announcement to their own contact lists regardless of whether the recipients know me or not. This happens all the time at least in my field.

This is one reason why the conference scam works so well - like many scientists I'm always looking out for interesting-looking conferences in my field, especially those I haven't heard of before (as I might make useful collaborative contacts outside my "usual circles" by attending such a conference). Never mind the fact that I'm also keen to have a working holiday someplace interesting. And often it turns out that fake conferences have lower registration fees than real conferences (I guess it's easy to lower the fees by not putting on a conference at all), which also makes it seem attractive. (I'm constantly trying to scrape together funding to attend conferences, so this can be relevant).

Un(?)fortunately my field is fairly specialised and I haven't yet discovered a conference scam related to my area.... seems like that would be fun to bait.

Posted: Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:09 pm

Quote:

Although this is a decent warning sign when coupled with other indicators of scamness (ie free email provider etc etc),

That was pretty much what I was getting at. Yes I'm sure people from other countries send perfectly legitimate e-mail with international topics in the content Smile

As you say coupled with the free e-mail reply, the lack of proper contact info (address etc) and the general wording of the mail it seems pretty obvious that it is.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 18 May 2010 Posts: 8

Yeah, I got almost this same one not too long ago.

Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2010 3:51 pm

Seems I have this little fish on the hook Smile

From: [email protected]
IP: 164.77.61.168
Subject: (MCHE CDPH) INVITATION

Priority: normal

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

Dear Friend
Am Isabella Anderson a staff of Global child health care organization (GCHCO) we are organizing an international conference on Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology / Child Development and Public Health (MCHE CDPH) 2010 taking place from 21st - 24th September 2010 in Atlanta Georgia USA and from 27th - 30th September in Saint-Louis Senegal
If you are interested to participate and want to represent your country you may contact the secretariat of the organizing committee by email (infomchecdphglobomailcom) for more information
You may get back to me with my email address belowisabelladerglobomailcom
Sincerely
Isabella Anderson

.
-------------------------

From: [email protected]
IP: 209.85.216.195
Subject: Dear Friend,

Isabella Anderson <[email protected]>

Dear Friend,

Thanks for your interest to take part in the forth-coming International
conference on Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology / Child Development and
Public Health (MCHE CDPH) 2010, taking place from 21st - 24th September 2010
in Atlanta, Georgia USA and from 27th - 30th September in Saint-Louis
Senegal.

It is not necessary that one must belong to an organization before he/she
is eligible to attend this event, interested participants can also
participate as an individual or a group of 4 - 6 members.

Delegates are responsible for their own Hotel Booking Accommodation in
Saint-Louis Senegal during the second phase of the event. As a proof to the
U.S Department of State that participants will participate in both phase of
the conference, and do not have any intention of staying in the United State
after the participation in this forth-coming international conference,
participants must make a deposit of 2 nights or complete the total
accommodation cost if possible to the recommended hotel management in
Saint-Louis Senegal.

*Registration:*

Interested participants should send the following information's via email,
to the Registration Desk. E-mail: [email protected].

Names exactly as in passport:
Passport Numbers:
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Country of Residence:
IDD code # of country of Residence:
.

______________________________________________________

From: [email protected]
IP: 209.85.161.179
Subject: Dear

Dear ,

Thanks for your interest to take part in the forth-coming International
conference on Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology / Child Development and
Public Health (MCHE CDPH) 2010, taking place from 21st - 24th September 2010
in Atlanta, Georgia USA and from 27th - 30th September in Saint-Louis
Senegal.

You may reach the registration desk by this E-mail address (
[email protected] ) with all the information require by
secretary general of the organization and expected delegates will only be
responsible for their hotel booking in Saint-Louis Senegal.

The organization have mandated all delegates to pay for their rooms
reservation to obtain their confirmation receipt as prove attending both
conferences and forward it to registrar along with the conference
internation forms duly fill by you for the processing of your conference
traveling document.

To facilitate the processing of you entitled traveling documents I advice
you hastening up in submitting the requested documents to registrar desk.

As we both know the conference date is close by and the sooner you submit
the requested documents the earlier you receive all conference traveling
documents that will enable you participate in this great event.

Again if notification of acceptance have not sent to you,or your proposal
not granted by secretary of the organization get back to us on time because
there is need for urgency and accountability,applications will be closed
earlier than the planned date; Early applications are encouraged.

Thanks you Sincerely ........
Ms Isabella Anderson
n desk by this E-mail address
______________________________________________________

From: [email protected]
IP: 164.77.61.168
Subject: (MCHE CDPH) INVITATION

Dear Friend
Am Isabella Anderson a staff of Global child health care organization (GCHCO) we are organizing an international conference on Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology / Child Development and Public Health (MCHE CDPH) 2010 taking place from 21st - 24th September 2010 in Atlanta Georgia USA and from 27th - 30th September in Saint-Louis Senegal
If you are interested to participate and want to represent your country you may contact the secretariat of the organizing committee by email (infomchecdphglobomailcom) for more information
You may get back to me with my email address belowisabelladerglobomailcom
Sincerely
Isabella Anderson