Alert on Fictitious ‘Forum’ E-mails

It has been brought to our attention that fraudulent e-mail messages are being sent by individuals purporting to be representatives of the World Economic Forum.

These messages have used the names of the Forum’s management team, but are not sent from World Economic Forum e-mail addresses (often they use Yahoo or Hotmail addresses).

Typically, though not exhaustively, the messages take the form of invitations offering membership or the possibility to participate in Forum events (e.g. “Davos 09”) as an individual or as part of a ‘delegation’. They ask the potential ‘victim’ to respond for further information.

Ultimately the recipient will be asked to provide passport and bank details, and finally payment (usually via Western Union or MoneyGram) to the fictitious Forum representative.

These e-mails are not legitimate World Economic Forum communications, and are in fact a form of advance fee fraud. Their objective is to mislead victims into paying for a fictitious membership or event registration.

Please note:
• E-mails from the World Economic Forum are only sent from addresses which end in: @weforum.org
• The World Economic Forum does not use Western Union or MoneyGram to receive payments
• Participation in the Annual Meeting is by invitation only and is reserved exclusively for Members of the World Economic Forum and invited guests

If you have received one of these e-mails or have any doubts about the authenticity of a message you have received from the Forum please forward the message to itsecurity@weforum.org for verification.

The World Economic Forum disclaims all responsibility with respect to any expense, loss, and/or damage of any kind, which might have occurred in connection with any fraudulent membership or event registration invitation.