New e-mail scam takes tailored approach

There’s a new identity theft scam you and your company’s execs and employees should look out for.
Bob Grant, staff writer for The Scientist, tells a story of an e-mail he received.
The message invited Grant to speak at an upcoming conference on global health care. The e-mailer listed the names of several other experts who were signed on to speak. He was asked to simply respond to the conference organizer, who would take care of his travel arrangements.
The problem: When Grant contacted the venue where the event was supposedly being held, an employee said no such conference was scheduled for the specified dates.
Grant also got in touch with the other listed speakers, who were real experts in the field, but they had never heard about the conference.
Grant decided not to sign up, of course. He assumes the purpose of the scam is to dupe folks into turning over personal data (passport info, credit card numbers for a hotel room deposit, etc.) as part of the conference registration.
This is a highly personalized scam that some in your company may need to watch for. Remind employees: The best approach is to follow Grant’s lead and research the conference before turing over any personal information.