Edit: Commenter David Green below reports that he has been to one of these conferences, and that it is not a scam. I can’t confirm this personally, but will correct myself if I’m shown to be wrong. My suspicions were raised based on word of mouth, but also by the fact that the friends who received this email at the time were first-year graduate students (i.e., clearly not leaders in their field). That plus the non-native English raised red flags. If anyone else knows about these conferences firsthand, please tell me about it in the comments.
Edit 2: See this comment below from a BIT employee.
A couple of friends just received the following email, inviting them to a marine biotechnology conference in China this spring. Turns out it’s a scam: this company makes up all kinds of fake conferences in different scientific fields. When you register, they steal your credit card. So don’t register.
It’s actually kind of amazing how believable this looks at first glance: the sessions are all on real topics, and they have a professional-looking website. I wonder, now that people know to be wary of Nigerian princes trying to give away their fortunes, if email phishing is headed in this direction—i.e., more sophisticated and targeted.
The original email is below:
BIT’s 1st Annual World Congress of Marine Biotechnology (WCMB-2011)
Time: April 25-29, 2011
Place: Dalian, China
Website: http://www.bitlifesciences.com/wcmb2011/Dear [your name here],
We would like to extend our invitation to you to be a speaker at our upcoming event: BIT’s 1st Annual World Congress of Marine Biotechnology (WCMB-2011) which will help to bring together scientists, managers, faculties, decision makers among all organizations engaged in marine biotechnology and encourage the development of commercialization of marine biotechnology. As we know your work in this field is a clear example of the leadership, so we would like to highlight your effort at our conference which will take place during April 25-29, 2011 in Dalian, China, with the theme of “Ocean, Life and Sustainability”. We express our sincere wish for your participation in this conference and make an oral presentation at one session of Track 1: Breaking R & D in Marine Biotechnology, The details of the sessions are:
Track 1-1: Marine Molecular/Cell Biology and Physiology
Track 1-2: Marine Ecology and Microbiology
Track 1-3: Marine Organismal Molecular Biology & Biotechnology
Track 1-4: Genomics, Proteomics & Metabolomics in Marine Biotechnology
Track 1-5: Marine Metagenomics and Bioinformatics
Track 1-6: The Marine Biotechnology Research Toolkit
Track 1-7: Marine Extremophiles
Track 1-8: Marine Nanobiotechnology and Biomaterials
Track 1-9: Sustainable Aquaculture and Fishery
Track 1-10: Conservation, Bioinvasion and Climate ChangeWCMB-2011 will take the form of plenary lectures, oral presentations, posters, exhibitions and project matchmaking; it covers topics from breakthroughs in Marine Biotechnology R & D, Algal Biotechnology, Marine Natural Products and Valuable Materials, Marine Bioenergy and Engineering, Marine Resources and Environment Bioremediation to applications of Marine biotechnology. WCMB-2011 will provide an ideal platform for marine biotechnologist to debate and deliberate on issues that are critical for the progress of this emerging area and identify the challenges and opportunities for the development of Marine Biotechnology.
Your participation as a speaker at this year’s world congress would add great value for your organization and our attendees. Please contact Ms. Doris Han at doris@bit-ibio.com if you are able to participate. Thank you for your timely consideration of this invitation, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
In addition, this major international event will be held in Dalian, one of the most beautiful coastal cities. After the conference, you are welcomed to join the Tech tour to experience the traditional Chinese culture and enjoy the delicious food in China.
The details of the conference, please visit: http://www.bitlifesciences.com/wcmb2011/
Best Regards,
Ms. Doris Han
Organizing Committee of WCMB-2011
26 Gaoneng St., F4
Dalian Hightech Zone
Dalian, LN 116025, China
Tel: 0086-411-84799609 ext 813
Fax: 0086-411-84799629
Email: doris@bit-ibio.comPS: We expect your precious comments or suggestions on the structure of our program, also your reference to other speakers will be highly appreciated. We look forward to receiving your replies on the following questions.
1. Are you interested in delivering a speech in one of these sessions? Which session?
2. What is the title of your speech?
3. Do you want to co-organize one of the sessions or have any suggestions about our scientific program?
Full Program
Track 1: Breaking R & D in Marine Biotechnology
Track 1-1: Marine Molecular/Cell Biology and Physiology
Track 1-2: Marine Ecology and Microbiology
Track 1-3: Marine Organismal Molecular Biology & Biotechnology
Track 1-4: Genomics, Proteomics & Metabolomics in Marine Biotechnology
Track 1-5: Marine Metagenomics and Bioinformatics
Track 1-6: The Marine Biotechnology Research Toolkit
Track 1-7: Marine Extremophiles
Track 1-8: Marine Nanobiotechnology and Biomaterials
Track 1-9: Sustainable Aquaculture and Fishery
Track 1-10: Conservation, Bioinvasion and Climate ChangeTrack 2: Algal Biotechnology and Phycology
Track 2-1: Algae Ecology, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, and Systematics?
Track 2-2: Algae and Cyanobacteria in Extreme Environments
Track 2-3: Micro-algal Biotechnology
Track 2-4: Algal Cultivation Techniques toward Seaweed Farming and Aquaculture
Track 2-5: Biotechnology Improving Algal Production & Productivity
Track 2-6: Algae Photobioteactors
Track 2-7: Robust Algal Processing & Downstream Production
Track 2-8: Algae in Health, Nutrition, Cosmetic and Feed Industries
Track 2-9: Harmful Algae Blooms and Green Tide
Track 2-10: Applications of Algae in Wastewater Treatment, Carbon Capture & RecycleTrack 3: Marine Natural Products and Valuable Materials
Track 3-1: Resources, Isolation and Identification of Bioactive Marine Natural Products
Track 3-2: Marine Chemistry of Natural Products
Track 3-3: Eicosanoids from Algae
Track 3-4: Marine Peptide and Protein and its Functions
Track 3-5: Marine Microalgae Polysaccharides
Track 3-6: Marine Enzymes with Unique Functions
Track 3-7: Natural Products and Materials from Sponges
Track 3-8: Marine Biopolymers and Applications
Track 3-9: Materials in Preventing Marine Corrosion
Track 3-10: Novel Composite Materials for Marine ApplicationsTrack 4: Biomedical Applications of Marine Biotechnology
Track 4-1: New Drug Screening from Marine Microorganism Metabolites
Track 4-2: Discovery of Marine Biomarker, and Biological Active Compounds
Track 4-3: Marine Products for Biomedical Assay
Track 4-4: Anticoagulant and Anti-thrombic Marine Products
Track 4-5: Antiviral and Antibacterial Marine Natural Products
Track 4-6: Anti-Tumor, Anti-metastatic Marine Natural Products
Track 4-7: Other Biomedical Applications of Marine BiotechnologyTrack 5: Marine Bioenergy and Engineering
Track 5-1: Algae and Seaweed Biomass
Track 5-2: Marine Bioethanol
Track 5-3: Marine Biodiesel
Track 5-4: Marine Biogases
Track 5-5: Algal Biofuels CommercializationTrack 6: Marine Resources and Environment Bioremediation
Track 6-1: Metagenomics and Synthetic Genomics for New Marine Resources
Track 6-2: Marine Industry Processes and Products
Track 6-3: Bioremediation for Bacterial Biofilms and Biofouling
Track 6-4: Bioremediation for Spilled Oils on the Sea
Track 6-5: Novel Marine Biotechnology for Conservations and Environment ProtectionsTrack 7: Business Forum on Marine Biotechnology
-5 Open Sessions for Free Organizations by both Tech and Product Suppliers and Investors
-Open Space for Interactive Forum (please propose)
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