New conference scam targets corporates

07 Feb 2014 - by Adele Mackenzie

Bogus business courses, fake
conferences and phony tender
processes targeting specific
industries are the latest scams
to be identified by local and
international security experts,
FTW has learnt. The logistics
industry may have been the
latest intended scam victim
with a one-day port, logistics
and handling conference
invitation doing the rounds
recently.
The misspelling of the
invitation
– “We are
pleased to
invite you
and the
management
of Staffs of
your company
FTW to our
4th coming
Conference/
Exhibition”
– was the
first clue that
something was
amiss; then
we discovered
that the website address
provided by the conference
organisers was registered
under a false domain name.
Other red flags included
webmail and yahoo e-mail
addresses, with only cell
phone numbers provided in
the invitation. And a distinct
absence of any company
logos. A Google map street
view of the address provided
in Kempton Park showed
an office block with a handwritten
cardboard sign in the
window offering cash loans.
There was no conference
agenda attached, nor were any
speakers and/or topics listed
but bank details were provided
for delegates to deposit their
one-day conference fee of
R3 500. When FTW called
the conference organiser
on his cell, he spoke of
international delegates and
speakers, providing names of
three keynote speakers from
companies known to us. One
was based in the UK and two
in Johannesburg. Two of the
companies
confirmed
they had been
approached but
both said they
had declined
the invitation.
The keynote
speaker
identified by
the organiser
was in fact
the company
receptionist.
Any requests
for a full
programme
were ignored and when pressed
for further details, vague
answers were provided. He
told FTW that 14 delegates had
already confirmed attendance
and when pressed for details,
he listed several high-level
delegates from Saudi Arabia
and one company managing
director from South Africa
who told FTW she had merely
responded to the e-mailed
invitation requesting the
programme. “To date, I’ve had
bugger-all reply,” she said.
“It’s definitely a scam,”
said forensic and loss control
consultant, Paul O’ Sullivan of
Paul O’ Sullivan & Associates,
when FTW forwarded him the
e-mail invitation. “They target
specific industries and do their
homework about the industry
to be able to provide plausible
details when questioned,”
he said. Even the action of
obtaining a quote from the
venue is “typical” because it
lends credence to intention, he
added.
Websites such as 419 scam.
org and Scam Detector have
also highlighted the conference
scam stating that fraudsters
operating under the guise
of legitimate businesses are
putting up “quite a convincing
front” with creative schemes
that have dented quite a few
company coffers.
Some of the ways that
fraudsters operate is to offer a
major discounted “early bird
fee”, prompting companies to
act quickly and snap up the
discount. Others invite global
speakers, telling them that
most expenses are covered
(flights, meals, transfers and
more) but that they only need
to pay for accommodation.
Speakers are often happy to do
that and allow the organisers
to do the bookings etc.
“The schemes are successful
because scammed executives
are simply too embarrassed to
prosecute the perpetrators,”
says O’ Sullivan. He told FTW
he had even been invited as
a guest speaker for a fake
conference last year. “I tried
to scam the scammer and told
them I’d love to participate but
I needed a 50% speaker’s fee
upfront before I could commit.”