The emails we are receiving offering lists for sale for some of the events we are attending are arriving in our inbox at an unprecedented rate. Just last week we received nearly two dozen emails offering to sell us lists, including our own member list. These are scam emails, usually selling fake lists, with a goal of getting money from you. Here is a great article about the “Eight Reasons Why You Should Never Buy an Email List”. 

AMCI reached out to Hugh Webster, Partner, Webster, Chamberlain & Bean, LLC, to see what we could do as an organization to try to put a stop to the person offering our member list for sale. The long and short of it is, sadly, not much. Hugh did issue a cease and desist on behalf of the Institute and AMCI did report the email to the US Department of Homeland Security Cyber and Infrastructure Division. He also mentioned that more often than not, the scammer is from outside of the US and is not concerned about complying with US laws. Frequently they will simply change their email address and continue their illicit practice.

What can you do? First, don’t engage with these emails. Delete them and move on with your day. Second, if your organization is targeted, you have every right to report it to the authorities. Here are some useful links to make reporting easier.

• US-CERT Incident Reporting System: www.us-cert.gov/forms/report
• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: www.ic3.gov/default.aspx

Finally, rest assured that your data within the AMCI database is safe. We take your privacy very seriously and we do not ever sell our members’ information.

We appreciate Hugh’s contributions to this article and diligence on behalf of AMCI and our members. Also, a huge thanks to the members who brought this to our attention.