Scam, scam scam scam
Feb. 11th, 2021 10:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrThis is the second or third time this email has shown up in my inbox.
Hello,
Hope you and your family is doing well and safe.
I am just following up to see if you are interested in acquiring the Attendees/Visitors list of,
Ceramic Showcase
30 Apr - 02 May 2021
Oregon Convention Center, Portland, USA
Visitors Count-3,137
Each record of the list contains Contact Name, Email Address, Phone No, Title, Company Name, URL/Website, City, Country, Zip code.
Let me know your thoughts so that we can send you the cost and additional information.
Best Regards,
Alexis
Business Executive
It purports to be from an outfit called "globalvisitorsdata.com," though if you try to visit the website you wind up on a Domain broker who offers to procure it for you. Here's the thing, though.
1. There is no Ceramic Showcase at the Convention Center in 2021. Oregon is still in extreme risk for COVID, and likely still will be by May, so Showcase will be entirely virtual.
2. Even if there were a live Showcase, how would they get a visitors list? Admission is free, and we don't take reservations or any other system that would track visitors names, much less email, phone or anything else on the list. For that matter, how did they come up with that "Visitors Count?"
3. They could provide that information about participants, I suppose, but they'd get it the same way I could access it for free--by scraping it off the OPA website. Huh, I wonder if they somehow hacked our postcard mailing list? (Or were sold it by our mailing service.)
I wonder what would happen if I tried to buy the list. Would they provide a file full of dummy names and addresses? Or would they take my credit card number and run away laughing?
Not that I'll ever know.
ETA: Found an investigative report on the problem online. Apparently, it's a problem with trade shows in general. They do provide real contacts, though not necessarily related to the specific show (a list sold for a medical trade show were all real doctors, but not necessarily attendees), and they prefer PayPal or wire transfer over credit cards, because the cards have gotten tougher on fraudulent sellers.
Hello,
Hope you and your family is doing well and safe.
I am just following up to see if you are interested in acquiring the Attendees/Visitors list of,
Ceramic Showcase
30 Apr - 02 May 2021
Oregon Convention Center, Portland, USA
Visitors Count-3,137
Each record of the list contains Contact Name, Email Address, Phone No, Title, Company Name, URL/Website, City, Country, Zip code.
Let me know your thoughts so that we can send you the cost and additional information.
Best Regards,
Alexis
Business Executive
It purports to be from an outfit called "globalvisitorsdata.com," though if you try to visit the website you wind up on a Domain broker who offers to procure it for you. Here's the thing, though.
1. There is no Ceramic Showcase at the Convention Center in 2021. Oregon is still in extreme risk for COVID, and likely still will be by May, so Showcase will be entirely virtual.
2. Even if there were a live Showcase, how would they get a visitors list? Admission is free, and we don't take reservations or any other system that would track visitors names, much less email, phone or anything else on the list. For that matter, how did they come up with that "Visitors Count?"
3. They could provide that information about participants, I suppose, but they'd get it the same way I could access it for free--by scraping it off the OPA website. Huh, I wonder if they somehow hacked our postcard mailing list? (Or were sold it by our mailing service.)
I wonder what would happen if I tried to buy the list. Would they provide a file full of dummy names and addresses? Or would they take my credit card number and run away laughing?
Not that I'll ever know.
ETA: Found an investigative report on the problem online. Apparently, it's a problem with trade shows in general. They do provide real contacts, though not necessarily related to the specific show (a list sold for a medical trade show were all real doctors, but not necessarily attendees), and they prefer PayPal or wire transfer over credit cards, because the cards have gotten tougher on fraudulent sellers.