BEWARE OF FAKE EMAILS

Emails sent from the address itk@mandat.fi had been read by someone other than the intended recipient, which is relatively easy to do since unencrypted emails are like open postcards. A hacker then created a deceptively similar email account and started sending emails in my name. The hacker's email address was formatted as follows: itk@mandat.fiitk.mandat.fi@mail.com

This fake email address, resembling the genuine one, was hosted elsewhere entirely. The hacker copied the text from my original messages, including all signature text and logos, and sent them to the original recipient. In one case, the hacker altered the content to say that, due to a large volume, the full payment for the exhibition space had to be charged immediately. The scam was uncovered when the recipient angrily contacted me, saying this was unacceptable. Thankfully, the situation was resolved, but one reservation payment had already been diverted to the scammer's account.

As a result, we have closed the itk@mandat.fi email address and replaced it with a new one: Nayttely@itk-konferenssi.fi. Please use this new address going forward.

We also discovered that at least Jarmo's and my personal email addresses had been similarly altered to end with @mail.com as a parallel use. Let's stay alert and address any suspicious emails immediately.

Jorma Saarinen
ITK Exhibition Committee