AEGiS-UNAIDS: UNAIDS denounces scam emails falsely implying association with UNAIDS

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

UNAIDS denounces scam emails falsely implying association with UNAIDS

UNAIDS Press Release - September 1, 2005

Various scam emails purporting or implying to be from or associated with UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, have been circulating on the Internet. Some of these emails request detailed information and/or money from individuals, businesses or non-profit organizations with the promise that they will receive funds or other benefits in return. Other emails ask for registration fees for conferences allegedly sponsored by UNAIDS and for hotel reservations, again with the promise of certain benefits. These emails sometimes carry the UNAIDS logo, and emanate from or refer to an email address which is made to look like a United Nations address.

These emails do not emanate from UNAIDS, and are not in any way associated with UNAIDS projects or events. UNAIDS wishes to warn the public of these misleading practices, and suggests that recipients of invitations such as those described above (whether sent by email or communicated in any other way) verify their authenticity before sending any response. In particular, UNAIDS suggests that recipients do not send money or personal information in response to invitations from anyone who claims to be awarding funds, grants, scholarships, certificates, lottery winnings, or prizes, and/or who requests payment for registration fees and hotel rooms reservations, in the name of UNAIDS.

If you have any doubts about the authenticity of an email, letter or phone call purportedly from, for or on behalf of UNAIDS, please email us at unaids@unaids.org. UNAIDS is trying to put a halt to these misleading practices, and we would therefore greatly appreciate your help in bringing suspect communications to our attention.

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