Scam Alert : Stay Vigilant !
WARNING
The perpetrators impersonate UNESCO staff or institutions in highly convincing ways, targeting experts, students, and scholars with claims that they have been selected to participate in a UNESCO event or recruitment process—conditional upon payment or the sharing of personal information.
These emails are fraudulent and require your utmost vigilance. They may take various forms and often include the UNESCO logo or links to official UNESCO websites and may contain false signatures of current UNESCO staff. However, they do not originate from legitimate or official UNESCO email addresses, their messages are not always consistent and ask for private information and/or credit card details or bank transfer requests. You should never reply to them nor submit personal or financial information and report them immediately to your email or Internet provider.
Please note: UNESCO never requests payment or fees including but not limited to events, prizes, recruitment, or scholarship procedures.
While UNESCO has been targeted by such scams in the past, there is a recent surge in this pattern. We urge all our networks, National Commissions, partners, and affiliated institutions to remain alert and help raise awareness. When receiving any communication from UNESCO, always verify the authenticity of such messages with your country’s National Commission for UNESCO or the local UNESCO office—especially when any form of payment is requested.
You can find contact details for each country here:https://www.unesco.org/en/countries
For more information, visit:https://www.unesco.org/en/scamalert
UNESCO is deeply concerned that fraudsters are sending fabricated invoices in the name of UNESCO to our partners with false bank account information.
In order to protect our partners, the general public and UNESCO itself, we would like to offer the following advice:
Be alert to the fact that scams exist
When dealing with uninvited contacts from people or businesses, whether it's over the phone, by mail, email, in person or on a social networking site, always consider the possibility that the approach may be a scam. Remember, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Be careful of spoofing
Phone number displayed on incoming call or “From” field presented by your email client can be easily spoofed. Never trust them and be careful of disambiguation. Fraudsters often attempt to approach you with a fraudulent email address that looks very similar to the official domain: john@unesco.org(link sends e-mail) could be a valid email, john@unessco.org(link sends e-mail) is not (note the two “s” in the domain name).
Take the time to check
The fraudsters generally request an urgent action and use a combination of authority (“it is an order to do this”), secrecy (“this project is still secret/confidential…”), valorization (“I count on you for your efficiency and discretion”) and pressure (“the success of the operation rests on your shoulders”) to convince to do the action. Take the time to think and check.
Respect standard working procedures
Be vigilant to any urgent or confidential request not respecting the standard working procedure. Procedures exist to avoid frauds.
Know who you're dealing with
If you have only ever met someone online or are unsure of the legitimacy of a business, take some time to do a bit more research. Do a Google image search on photos or search the internet for others who may have had dealings with them. If a message or email comes from a friend and it seems unusual or out of character for them, contact your friend directly to check that it was really them that sent it.
Do not click on links or attachments in emails without being sure of your contact
If unsure, verify the identity of the contact through an independent source such as a phone book or online search. Do not use the contact details provided in the message sent to you.
Keep your personal details secure
It is recommended not to write down your passwords and pin numbers. Be very careful about how much personal information you share on social media sites. Scammers can use your information and pictures to create a fake identity or to target you with a scam.
If you are the victim of a fraud from an entity with a non-UNESCO domain name, please immediately reach out to your national authorities to file a complaint.
Beware of fake sites posing as UNESCO
UNESCO hosts all its official content exclusively on theunesco.org domain and its sub-domains, which are always linked bydots (.) andnot hyphens (-).
Examples of official UNESCO sites:
✔ whc.unesco.org(World Heritage Centre)
✔ careers.unesco.org(Recruitment)
✔ events.unesco.org(UNESCO Events)
✔ iiep.unesco.org(International Institute for Educational Planning)
Examples of fraudulent or unofficial sites:
✘unesco-world.org
✘unesco-careers.com
✘unesco-project.net
✘unesco-events.org
✘unesco-apply.com
Any website using the word "unesco" but not under the structure[name].unesco.org isnot an official site and may be fraudulent.
We strongly recommend that youcheck the web address carefully before providing any personal information or interacting with any content purporting to be related to UNESCO.
If in doubt, consult our official websitewww.unesco.org.
Thank you for your attention and cooperation.