Warning: E-Mail Scams
Watch out for e-mail PRETENDING to be from UFI staff or officers
In recent weeks, UFI members and colleagues have repeatedly been targeted by e-mail scams. People pretending to be UFI staff or officers have been contacting individuals by e-mail, asking for imminent help by transferring money. For these attempts, the criminals are either hiding their real e-mail addresses, pretending to be UFI staff or an UFI officer, or they have created emails on services such as aol.com, gmail.com and others.
UFI will never ask you or our members for urgent payments non related to activities you have initiated.
If you receive a suspicious looking e-mail, please DO NOT transfer any money and DO NOT write back. Instead, please inform UFI in Paris about the attempt.
Be advised, be vigilant, beware in any dealings with
This information relates to questionable professional practices perpetrated against exhibitors by numerous companies with their misleading directory services.
The Belgium government recommends that you exercise the greatest caution when receiving offers from the following companies:
- BedrijfInUwRegio
- Bedrijfinuwregio.nl/ Bedrijfinuwregio.be
- Bossie BV (bedrijfsrubriek.net)
- Bureau Intellectual property registration Kft.
- Credit Collection Factoring s.r.o.
- Credit Management Benelux
- Easy Pages Ltd / European www register
- Edition Hekking Cornélis
- E.D.P. / EDP / EDP-SERVICE
- EMS European Marketing Service – Pages Jaunes Belgique
- EU Business Services Ltd
- Euro Business Guide
- European Agency Intellectual Property (EAIP)
- European Intellectual Property Agency EIPA
- European Patent and Trade Agency (EPTA)
- European trademark publications (ETP)
- Exhibitors Directory for Fairs and Exhibitions (Expo – Guide)
- Expo Guide
- International Fairs Directory
- International Patent and Trademark Service (IPTR)
- Internet Gemeentegids
- Internet Service Benelux
- Inversiones DGSM srl (Expo – Guide)
- I.P.A. / IPA
- IP-Bureau
- ITO Europe
- Media Service 24
- Mulpor en incassobureau IBCM Ltd / EDC (European Domain Centre)
- OfficeSoftware Direct
- Patent Protect Bureau
- TM Benelux
- TVV – Tele Verzeichnis Verlag / Portail des Entreprises / Centraal Handelsregister
- Waldberg & Hirsch Global Collections Ltd
These companies for example may provide legitimate exhibition guides aimed at exhibitors across the globe, offering online listing services. They may use a form which resembles an organiser’s free catalogue listing service, inviting exhibitors to complete the form for an entry in an on-line directory. Unsuspecting exhibitors who sign and return the form are then contracted into a non-retractable agreement, which could cost the exhibitor a significant amount of money, with very limited foreseeable benefits. In reality, the details are often available on the form itself, but are often too small and insignificant to be noticed. It is always wise to read all the small print before signing a contract, and if the information is impossible to read then the contract should not be signed.
These publications have no connection with exhibition organisers or any of their events, and it is important that all companies who are exhibiting are made aware of this.
We strongly advise UFI members therefore, all exhibitors and the entire exhibition community, to be most vigilant against this and similar organisations. Organisers: we advise you to inform your exhibitors of the existence of these companies, and the need to be wary of their dubious practices. They can cause extreme damage and harm to the reputation of our industry.
Through the combined efforts and vigilance, we will succeed in defending the interests of the international exhibition industry – and those of our clients!