The American Affiliation of Orthodontists (AAO) has issued a warning to its members, exhibitors, and sponsors about fraudulent emails claiming to promote attendee lists for its 2026 Annual Session in Orlando.
Rip-off Emails Use AAO Branding
In line with the advisory, scammers have despatched communications that embody the AAO emblem to look legit. The affiliation confirms it isn’t sending these emails and that the senders usually are not AAO companions or associates.
The AAO additionally states that its IT programs haven’t been compromised and that the e-mail addresses used within the rip-off weren’t obtained from the affiliation.
Figuring out and Reporting Fraudulent Messages
The AAO advises recipients to search for indicators of a rip-off, akin to incorrect assembly info, poor grammar, and senders utilizing free electronic mail providers like Gmail or misspelled domains.
If a fraudulent electronic mail is acquired, the AAO recommends not interacting with the sender and following organizational procedures for reporting spam. If the emails persist, a criticism could be filed with the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Official Attendee Info Sharing
The warning clarifies that in registration for some AAO occasions, attendees have the choice to opt-in to share their contact info with distributors and sponsors for direct advertising. Info shared by way of this official methodology solely contains people who’ve given particular consent. The AAO notes that communications ensuing from this legit opt-in course of ought to seem considerably completely different from the fraudulent messages.
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