Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1312726
ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION NOVEMBER 25, 2020 Page 6 Scam Alert: The PSAI Does Not Sell Lists!…Continued from page 5 Let's Talk More about the Bad Guys If someone offers you a list, the best thing you can do is ignore the email entirely. They are trying to get you to engage, and anything you do to encourage that won't help you stay safe. In fact, it just encourages them. If you open the email or engage with them, you are showing that your email is active, and that invites more mischief. If you are genuinely curious about whether they are selling a list, contact the show or association directly. Ask: • Do you give information to third parties? • Do you rent or sell lists of attendees? • Is [the name of the company or person] that contacted you on the list of their third-party vendors? If the answers to all three of the above questions is "yes," the list could be legitimate. If not, it's probably a scam. If you are terribly curious, try looking up the person who contacted you online, such as on LinkedIn, and see if they are who they say they are. That might prove challenging though. Currently a popular name going around on these "list for sale" emails is "Susan Jones." That's a pretty generic name and there are thousands of them on LinkedIn. I have yet to see someone named Ferdinand Ingnacz Chimilewski offer a list. It would be too easy to see through that one. More Conference Invitation Scams Another scam that's currently going around involves telling attendees about exhibitors that don't even exist. As far as we know that hasn't happened to the PSAI yet, but it could happen to larger shows. The idea is to push you into wanting to sign up for the conference, possibly through a fake website that will take your money. To verify the confirmed exhibitors at any conference or trade show, check the actual event website. Most shows will post lists of confirmed exhibitors, especially as the show gets close. Always make sure that you pay for any conference you are attending for the first time with a credit card. That way if you do get scammed through a fake website you can get your money back. Hotel Scams This one isn't currently coming up much since COVID-19, but earlier this year another scam associated with trade shows and conferences has been for ne'er do wells to contact potential attendees about hotel reservations. They try to make it "easy" for you to get your hotel reservation taken care of, and once you pay—always up front of course, to lock in some fake "deal" or to get a room they claim is soon to be sold out—you find out it's all a scam. When the PSAI does a show, we never ever have anyone call you asking for money related to lodging. We do occasionally have fellow members as volunteers who might ring to encourage you to attend and might even tell you if hotel rooms are running short, but they won't ask for money. They honestly just hope to see you at the event. Continued on page 11