The association has issued an advisory regarding fraudulent emails offering to sell contact lists for the upcoming event in Orlando.
The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) has issued a warning to its members, exhibitors, and sponsors about fraudulent emails claiming to sell attendee lists for its 2026 Annual Session in Orlando.
Scam Emails Use AAO Branding
According to the advisory, scammers have sent communications that include the AAO logo to appear legitimate. The association confirms it is not sending these emails and that the senders are not AAO partners or affiliates.
The AAO also states that its IT systems have not been compromised and that the email addresses used in the scam were not obtained from the association.
Identifying and Reporting Fraudulent Messages
The AAO advises recipients to look for indicators of a scam, such as incorrect meeting information, poor grammar, and senders using free email services like Gmail or misspelled domain names.
If a fraudulent email is received, the AAO recommends not interacting with the sender and following organizational procedures for reporting spam. If the emails persist, a complaint can be filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Official Attendee Information Sharing
The warning clarifies that during registration for some AAO events, attendees have the option to opt-in to share their contact information with vendors and sponsors for direct marketing. Information shared through this official method only includes individuals who have given specific consent. The AAO notes that communications resulting from this legitimate opt-in process should appear substantially different from the fraudulent messages.
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