Yesterday, the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan issued a statement on the first World Information Society Day, May 17th. His short speech centered on the importance of "cyber-security": In an increasingly interconnected and networked world, it has become critically important to safeguard our vital systems and infrastructures against attack by cybercriminals, while instilling confidence in…
Category: United Nations
The UN as a Massively Multiplayer Game
The United Nations recently put out a press release on the one year anniversary of the launch of their first video game entitled “Food Force.” I reviewed “Food Force” in June 2005, noting that it was actually pretty fun to play and reasonably educational. In the free-for-download game, you are assigned to a team of…
Response from UN on Scam Emails
I finally heard back from the UN today regarding the scam emails from people posing as representatives of various UN agencies. Here’s what "eStaffing Support" at the United Nations sent me: The email that you have received is a fraudulent email. It does not have anything to do with UN employment. Please ignore this type of email…
Fake UN Spam: Identity Theft or Service Fee?
I have gotten lots of responses from people saying that they too have received the same emails from fake UN agencies offering cushy six figure jobs around the world. Several people have said that they responded to the advertised postings and received job offers almost immediately. However none of them have corroborated the claim by…
More UN spam… I mean World Vision Intl Spam
Finally, I just received some spam from an international organization that isn’t the United Nations. This time around, it’s from, apparently World Vision International. WVI is : a Christian relief and development organisation working for the well being of all people, especially children. Through emergency relief, education, health care, economic development and promotion of justice,…
UNCDF Issues Email Fraud Alert
I recently found a fraud advisory on the United Nations Capital Development Fund website warning people about fake emails sent out in their name: UNCDF recently fell victim to an internet scam whereby a fraudulent email was circulated announcing fictitious vacancy announcements. The purpose of this fraud was to get people to register for a…
The UN Employment Scam Unpacked
I’ve been getting lots of responses from people who have also received these fake emails from groups pretending affiliation with the United Nations. A nice person forwarded to me all of the documents and communications that she received when she applied for a job with the “US Committee for the UN.” She notes that after…
UN Spam: Just Another Phishing Scheme
I am pretty sure at this point that these fake UN emails advertising cushy job postings and free travel to UN conferences are just elaborate phishing schemes hidden in UN-ese double-speak. This suspicion was confirmed when "Ernest" commented in a previous post here about his experience in replying to the "Youth conference" email: i have…
UN Agency for Sustainable Growth Wants You! (More UN Spam)
Here’s the latest United Nations spam that I received from the "United Nations Agency for Sustainable Growth." The job descriptions are almost identical to the ones from the "U.S. Committee for the U.N". Weirder and weirder: The mission of the Agency for Sustainable growth (UNASG) is the creation of physically and socially sustainable cities. UNASG’s…
More strange UN spam: UNICEF INVITES YOU!!
I just got another email (see below) purporting to be from a United Nations source, this one supposedly from Carol Bellamy, “an executive director of UNICEF.” The email asks people to nominate themselves to attend a youth conference in The Netherlands and South Africa. No dates, no website, no details on the agenda or purpose….