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International Conference Scam/Schemes
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Recently, I received an invitation to apply for this conference "Ethics for Human Development: Global Perspective". The conference was posted on several credible INGO websites and actually was sent through my e-list. I sent my application and received an answer after a few days. Part of the message was:
VISA INFORMATION:
International Human Development Network in collaboration with our Co-sponsors shall provide visa assistance to all qualified participant requiring entry visa to enter into the United Kingdom only if the visiting applicant returns their conference registration form with receipt proof of hotel reservation booked at the recommended hotel. This is a pre-requisite evidence to prove that the participant has duly conformed to all directives. In this case, every intending participant is advised to contact the hotel for reservation and book directly with the hotel for (5-days 11th-15th February). We shall send an acceptance letter to all qualified delegate. We shall provide visa assistance through the British Bureau of Immigration Affairs and by the British visa Immigration lawyers, we shall send the confirmation of authorized visas through secured courier postage and a copy will be sent to the consular section at the British embassy in your country where there is no presence of the British embassy. British visa Immigration lawyers shall procure all necessary needed embassy documents for participant’s visa and also schedule visa appointment date with participant's embassies. You will only appear at the embassy for the issuance of your visa seal in your passports.


Anyway, I was trying to find information about the organization. I just found the INGO websites where the event was posted but not the IHDN organization itself. I even searched for the domain name or url (ihdn-uk.org) since the contact email is secretary@ihdn-uk.org but the site is not accessible. I called up my cousin who is in the UK to verify the address of Springsworth hotel, where we were supposed to stay for the conference and she said that there was no Springsworth in London, only Springfield Hotel. She even told me that the contact number of the organization had more numbers than the usual. I even searched the address of the organization through google map and found out that the place was actually an empty lot. Springsworth could not even be found on search engines, except when you type it directly. The hotel's webpage was a mess: the description of the hotel was in London but the address was in Endinburgh which is not in London but Scotland. I emailed the hotel and told them about my confusion and the manager said, they were just updating their web. The funny thing though was the manager emailed me in a totally bad English, or shall I say, it was so un-English of him. Meanwhile, the conference secretary, Dr. Brammer, emailed me and sent my attendance confirmation. He also made several syntactical and grammatical errors which were obvious and unacceptable for an English man, with a PhD degree and who was supposed to graduate from the best universities in UK. His name also was not searchable on the net.

It was a good thing that I have a relative in London to verify things for me and also the internet to give me more information. Most conference scams I notice are always organized or held in the UK. I don't know why. There should be an international internet police who will prosecute these people who take advantage of conference attendees especially those coming from the global south. We are an easy prey for these businessmen.

My tips on how to avoid scam as I see it:
(1) check the organization--if it is valid, it is searchable and all the contact information are verifiable.
(2) do not send money at once, make sure you know who you are dealing with.
(3) If the org advertises that they have partners and big orgs with them, it should be hyperlinked to those supporters/partners, or at least the logos are posted. Better yet, if you still doubt them, contact their partners and verify it with them.
(4) if an invitation is sent to you, say from a valid organization from someone, make sure that his email is connected with the org. ex. unclesam@organization's name.
(5) if the conference is an annual event, check the previous conferences just to make sure
(6) Check the location, ask for a map or check it through google earth. Google earth is very helpful, it tells you which buildings and businesses are in the area even ngos.
(7) If the coordinator is a professor, say, Dr.Sipi Brown, check if this professor exists. Get as much info as you can. Most organizations will specify the names and qualifications of the team and staff and including their pictures. This only proves that people behind the group are real and legal.
(8) Does the invitation have a lot of spelling or grammatical errors? Beware! A legitimate organization will make sure that the letters they sent are also professional in quality.
(9) Find people who have participated in the event and ask them about it. If you cant find a single testimonial from a verifiable person, then don't push through.
(10) Check the picture gallery, some pictures cant lie. You would know if they are fake or not. The pictures should also be marked: when, where, and who are in the conference. A reputable org will always have their archives too to show their programs and their progress. Unless, of course, they just started.



February 7, 2008 | 10:05 AM Comments  1 comments

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laurakenyon LauraK
February 7, 2008 | 4:26 PM

Thanks for pointing this out! It's true - there are a lot of fake events out there, and sometimes it's hard to tell the real ones from the bogus.
Did you see this event listed on TIG anywhere? - I searched in our Events database but couldn't find it. Please let me know - so I can warn others.
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