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Apologies for x-posting, but this is important. If you are
affiliated with a research institution, please take the time to read
through everything; this has affected people in the EU, Canada, and
US in the past, and may be more extensive.<br>
<br>
We just received the following "request", which should look familiar
to several of you (Andy Bentley and Heather Thorwald, especially),
and new to others:<br>
<div class="moz-forward-container"><br>
-------- Original Message --------
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<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">Subject:
</th>
<td>university visit</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">Date: </th>
<td>Fri, 12 Jul 2013 07:44:57 -0700</td>
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<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">From: </th>
<td>Dr. Ram Kailash P. Yadav <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:dr.ram12@yahoo.com"><dr.ram12@yahoo.com></a></td>
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<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">Reply-To:
</th>
<td>Dr. Ram Kailash P. Yadav <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:dr.ram12@yahoo.com"><dr.ram12@yahoo.com></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE">To: </th>
<td><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:douglas.yanega@ucr.edu">douglas.yanega@ucr.edu</a> <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:douglas.yanega@ucr.edu"><douglas.yanega@ucr.edu></a></td>
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</tbody>
</table>
<tt><span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br>
It's my great opportunity to introduce you my self . I am </span></span></tt><tt><span>Associate
Professor Dr. Ram Kailash P. Yadav Tribhuvan
University central Department of Botany and part time </span></tt><tt><span
style="font-size: 10pt;">i involved my self as </span></tt><tt><span
style="font-size: 10pt;">a Researcher in</span></tt><tt><span
style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></tt><tt><span><span
style="color: rgb(51, 0, 255); font-size: 10pt;">Research
and Conservation of Nature Nepal (RECON)</span></span></tt><tt><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"> and </span></tt><tt><span
style="font-size: 10pt;">. </span></tt><tt><span
style="font-size: 10pt;">It was originally established with
the objectives</span></tt><tt><span style="color: rgb(68, 68,
68);"> </span></tt><tt><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68);
font-size: 10pt;">of natural resource management,
conservation, applied research on the biodiversity, ecology of
both flora, fauna , </span></tt><tt>Cultural,</tt><tt>Private
Viewing for Cultural or Academic Research</tt><tt> </tt><tt><span
style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 10pt;"> and the
development of human resources through in-country training ,
in wildlife techniques, community participation techniques,
community forestry, conservation education .The </span></tt><tt><span
style="color: rgb(51, 0, 255); font-size: 10pt;">RECON</span></tt><tt><span
style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-size: 10pt;">,</span></tt><tt><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"> established by late "Oohi"Govinda
Bahadur Gurung,</span></tt><tt><span><span style="color:
rgb(82, 76, 69); font-size: 10pt;"> the pioneer taxidermist
and naturalist in Nepal, is dedicated to the research of
floral, faunal, archaeological, geological and natural
resources within county since 2001 AD. With the aim of
conservation of different zoological, botanical species as
well as natural resources, we are running our organization. </span></span></tt><tt><span
style="color: rgb(51, 0, 255); font-size: 10pt;">RECON</span></tt><tt><span><span
style="color: rgb(82, 76, 69); font-size: 10pt;"> is
providing Vocational training on Taxidermy and wildlife art
in close collaboration in Kathmandu, Nepal. The training is
three to six months long based on the curriculum and its
intensity. Here is brilliant and expert teacher in this
museum. After taking this training, the museum will send to
test of International level of training in foreign area</span></span></tt><tt><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span></tt><tt>.</tt><tt><span
style="font-size: 10pt;">Therefore, I would like to visit your
university,university Museum and respective collection</span></tt><tt><span><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"> departments with my colleagues in
near future as a part of scholarly visit to receive and
share research knowledge and scientific activities with your
experts.</span></span></tt><tt><span style="font-size:
10pt;"></span></tt><tt><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Hence,
I hereby, humbly request you to arrange a time schedule for
our scholarly visit to your renowned institution on July 2013</span></tt><tt>.</tt><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; padding: 0px; font-family: 'Times
New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-size:
14.5pt;">Sincerely,</span></div>
<div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times
new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt">
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<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; padding: 0px;
font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size:
12pt;"><span><i><span style="font-size: 14.5pt;">Associate
Prof.Dr.Ram Kailash P.Yadav </span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; padding: 0px;
font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size:
12pt;"><span><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Central
Department of Botany</span></i></span><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div><span><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Tribhuvan
University</span></i></span><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; padding: 0px;
font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size:
12pt;"><span><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Kiritipur,Kathmandu,Nepal</span></i></span><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; padding: 0px;
font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size:
12pt;"><span><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Post
Box: 26429</span></i></span><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; padding: 0px;
font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size:
12pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Phone:-+977-1-4331322,433372</span></i><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; padding: 0px;
font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size:
12pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a
moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow"
ymailto="mailto:E-mail%3A-dr.ram12@yahoo.com"
target="_blank"
href="mailto:E-mail%3A-dr.ram12@yahoo.com"
style="color: rgb(40, 98, 197); outline: 0px;">E-mail:-dr.ram12@yahoo.com</a></span></i><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; padding: 0px;
font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size:
12pt;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Website:<a
moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.cdbtu.edu.np/" style="color:
rgb(40, 98, 197); outline: 0px;">http://www.cdbtu.edu.np</a></span></i><span
style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div><span><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><a
moz-do-not-send="true" rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.recon.org.np/"
style="color: purple; outline: 0px;"><span>www.recon.org.np</span></a></span></i></span></div>
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Here's the thing about this:<br>
<br>
There are two very different scams out of India/Nepal
targeting US museums; the "please send specimens (so we
can sell them)" scam and the "please send a formal
invitation (so we can issue a fraudulent visa)" scam.
The former seems to be fairly limited in terms of
targeting places that might actually have preserved
vertebrates. The latter targets any and all museums,
including ours. Over the years, we've gotten at least 3
requests directly, phrased very much like the one below,
which I got last year:<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>-----------</div>
<div>Date: Mon, 7 May 2012 11:52:48 -0700<br>
Subject: visit of ento museum<br>
From: Ishwarbhai Patel <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="mailto:dr.ispatel@gmail.com"><dr.ispatel@gmail.com></a></div>
<div>To: <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="mailto:douglas.yanega@ucr.edu"><douglas.yanega@ucr.edu></a></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Sir,</div>
<div>I have came to know to that you have prestigious
entomological museum. Now a days I am in California and
intend to see your museum as I am basically Agricultural
entomologist working on various</div>
<div> aspctes of Integrated Pest Management at Research
institute in Gujarat state, INDIA.You are requested to
give permission to see the museum.</div>
<div>with kind regards</div>
<div>thanks <br>
</div>
<div>--<br>
Dr. I. S. Patel<br>
Research Scientist (Ento.) & PI (<i>Helicoverpa</i>)<br>
AICRP on Pigeonpea</div>
<div>Centre of Excellence for Research on Pulses<br>
S. D. Agricultural University</div>
<div>Sardarkrushinagar-385506, Dist. B.K.,<br>
Gujarat (INDIA)<br>
<br>
02742-266802(R)<br>
02748-278459(O)</div>
<div>09898208274 (Mob)</div>
<div>-----------</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>The interesting thing is that, according to their
website, there is no I.S. Patel on the staff of the
Centre of Excellence for Research on Pulses in
Sardarkrushinagar - and a message to the director there
asking about him was ignored. This is the same pattern
as in previous requests we have received; they always
ask for a letter of invitation or permission, the
message originates from a suspiciously non-official
email address (hotmail, gmail or yahoo), and no such
person appears to be employed at whatever institution
they claim to be from (if such an institution exists).
Sometimes, the person exists, but the e-mail is
fraudulent. In this present case, I sent a message to
the REAL Dr. Ram's institutional address for
confirmation that the message was sent by him. I do not
expect confirmation.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>This was a major topic in the museum community back
in 2009 with a spate of messages sent to many
collections, nearly all with requests from Nepal. Here
are three of the relevant sets of messages, with numbers
to group them by threads (anonymized):</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>(1)-----------</div>
<div>Dear Dr.XXX</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>thank you very very much for your kindly email.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I would like to take this opportunity to inform you
that Zoological</div>
<div>&Botanical Garden of Kathmandu, Nepal. It is one
of the major<br>
Biodiverdiversity research institutions in Nepal. The
mail objectives of</div>
<div>the institution are. <br>
<br>
To conduct Taxonomic, zoogeographic and phylogentetic
studies, a wide<br>
range research for the exploration of flora and fauna
and biological<br>
diversity of the earth. To establish a biological
collection institution<br>
and maintain it under optimal living conditions, in an
effort to preserve<br>
rare animals and plants threatened with extinction.<br>
<br>
Fulfills objectives of sustainable development, to
ensure clean and healthy<br>
natural environment not only for present generation but
also future<br>
generation to come. <br>
<br>
To conserve Nepal's natural resources and serve as a
research and<br>
educational facility in Nepal for scientists, students,
and other<br>
interested scholar <br>
<br>
The main focus of the collections of zoology is to
conduct research on<br>
the taxonomy about plant .so to study their facilities,
new practices on<br>
taxidermy and scientific collections as well as Plant. <br>
<br>
Cheers<br>
Dr.Rajkumar Chauhan ( Director) <br>
Zoological and Botanical Garden Kathmandu, Nepal</div>
<div><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="http://www.znbgnepal.com">www.znbgnepal.com</a></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>> Dear Raja,<br>
> Thank you for sending me the details. I still need
your postal address</div>
<div>to</div>
<div>> put on my invitation letter. You haven't even
given me the name of your</div>
<div>> institution.</div>
<div>> Sincerely,</div>
<div>>XXX<br>
</div>
<div>>> Dear prof.Dr.XXX</div>
<div>>> <br>
>> Our Board Meeting decided that 3 staffs will
visit XXX</div>
<div>>> Department of Entomology along with me in
September 7-18 2009 for the<br>
>> purpose of scientific research activities about
taxonomy about Insect</div>
<div>i am<br>
>> agree about our visit.All our total cost will
be covered by our</div>
<div>Museum.</div>
<div>>> </div>
<div>>> Please let me know may i send you details
for preparation invitation</div>
<div>>> letter? or do you need format of welcome
letter?</div>
<div>>> </div>
<div>>> Hoping you positive responces from you by
email.</div>
<div>>> </div>
<div>>> Raja</div>
<div>>> Nepal</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>which was followed up by:</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Dear XXX,</div>
<div><br>
We contacted the phone number provided in the purported
website of the<br>
Zoological and Botanical Garden of the Kathmandu.
However, the number<br>
turned out to be for a grocery shop. The man who
answered the phone<br>
said this office was in the same house awhile back and
he recounted they<br>
had a very small operation. The man thought this office
no longer<br>
existed. As the credibility of the institution appears
questionable, we<br>
do not recommend you send your invitation letter unless
Dr. Chauhan<br>
sends you sufficient information about him and his
organization to<br>
establish that it a genuine organization.<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
Consular Section<br>
U.S. Embassy<br>
Kathmandu, Nepal<br>
Phone: 977-1-400-7200<br>
Fax: 977-1-400-7281</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>(2)----------</div>
<div>Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:02:37 -0600<br>
Thread-Topic: inquiry from Nepal<br>
Thread-Index: AcoJbKXza1uYUpb6TvSogj1UeGLCGg==<br>
From: <xxx></div>
<div>To: <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="mailto:NHCOLL-L@lists.yale.edu"><NHCOLL-L@lists.yale.edu></a></div>
<div>Reply-To: xxx</div>
<div>Sender: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:owner-nhcoll-l@lists.yale.edu">owner-nhcoll-l@lists.yale.edu</a></div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>If anyone has been contacted by Govinda Bhandari,
director of Research and Conservation of Nature Nepal
(RECON), regarding an invitation to visit to your
institution, I d appreciate it if you would contact me
off-list.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>---</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Subject: RE: [NHCOLL-L:4398] Re: inquiry from Nepal<br>
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:06:12 +0100<br>
Thread-Topic: [NHCOLL-L:4398] Re: inquiry from Nepal<br>
Thread-Index: AcoJe2CVjmQnCnYlRUqAmsuXGqVNAQFJeNmA</div>
<div>From: XXX</div>
<div>To: <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="mailto:dyanega@ucr.edu"><dyanega@ucr.edu></a></div>
<div><br>
Doug<br>
<br>
Similar Nepalese requests but none from this particular
name.<br>
<br>
I assume all are scams. Once they get visa support from
us they would be free to enter the EU and could travel
anywhere in Europe without restriction. A small number
may be genuine but we have a policy of not supporting
any visa application unless we initiate the process
rather than being solicited by strangers. <br>
<br>
One Nepalese taxidermy museum was very persistent and
applied to various email addresses through our museum
website after I had clearly explained our policy.<br>
</div>
<div>I have also noticed that every time we organise a
conference there is a spate of non-national
applications, always looking for an 'invitation' as
opposed to simply applying themselves. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>---</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>From: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:owner-nhcoll-l@lists.yale.edu">owner-nhcoll-l@lists.yale.edu</a>
[<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="mailto:owner-nhcoll-l@lists.yale.edu">mailto:owner-nhcoll-l@lists.yale.edu</a>]
On Behalf Of Doug Yanega<br>
Sent: 20 July 2009 21:32<br>
To: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:NHCOLL-L@lists.yale.edu">NHCOLL-L@lists.yale.edu</a><br>
Subject: [NHCOLL-L:4398] Re: inquiry from Nepal<br>
</div>
<div>>If anyone has been contacted by Govinda Bhandari,
director of Research <br>
>and Conservation of Nature Nepal (RECON), regarding
an invitation to <br>
>visit to your institution, I'd appreciate it if you
would contact me <br>
>off-list.<br>
<br>
There's a rash of things like this going around, and a
few are from legitimate researchers, even if many are
not. This is worth discussing on-list.<br>
<br>
For one example I encountered recently, Narender Sharma
of the Zoological Survey of India appears to be entirely
legitimate.<br>
<br>
On the other hand, Rajkumar Chauhan of the "Zoological
& Botanical Garden of Kathmandu, Nepal" is a fake,
and it has been suggested that this is an outfit trying
to get people illegally into the US (they use the letter
of invitation to get a Visa, and then sell that to a
third party).<br>
<br>
Other vaguely-similar cases in the past reported here on
NHCOLL appear to be fronts for biological supply
companies, but this is a different sort of scam; and
it's based on the real-life practices of institutions in
and around India, soliciting letters of invitation to
work abroad.<br>
<br>
One cannot safely assume either that they are all real,
OR that they are all fakes. You need to investigate
carefully on a case-by-case basis. There is no reason to
offend legitimate researchers in the process of weeding
out the frauds.<br>
<br>
To wit: Govinda Bhandari is the name of a PhD student at
Kathmandu University in 2008. I find no records,
however, relating to any entity known as "Nature Nepal".
Unless it is a brand-spanking new NGO, this one is
suspicious. It's not impossible for a PhD student to
occupy a directorship right after graduation, but it's
also not impossible for someone to just grab your name
off the web and use it as a legitimate-sounding but
hard-to-trace pseudonym.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>(3)----------</div>
<div><font color="#000080" face="Arial" size="-1">----------------------</font></div>
<div><font color="#000080" face="Arial" size="-1">Along
this same line I received a request a few years back
from an ichthyologist from an African country wanting
to visit the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. He
wanted to come and study curatorial techniques (all
costs would be covered by a grant he had received) and
so I prepared a letter of invitation. All went as
planned until the day before his scheduled arrival.
At that time I received an email from a hotmail
address claiming to be the visitors sister and telling
me that the visitor had been in a car accident and
would not be coming the next day so I was NOT to
bother going to the airport to meet them. In
retrospect I feel quite sure this was simply a scam to
get illegal entry into Canada (and perhaps from there
to the USA). I also realized that the original
requests all came from a hotmail address as well and
at the time I simply did not question it. Given the
circumstances in the world today we need to be
diligent and follow up to be sure these are real
scientifically based requests.</font></div>
<div>-----------</div>
<div>-----------<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>There was another related message, which I can't find
in my archives, which gave an important detail regarding
how the "letter of invitation" was, at least in India
and Nepal, an essential item required in order to obtain
a J-1 visa.
<div><br>
</div>
I suspect that there are more of these requests being
received than people are admitting to: the above are
just a few selected responses, but my impression was
that lots of people had encountered this, and in the
intervening years since the topic died down, it is
likely that this has been ongoing but no one is talking
about it. It's obviously time to talk about this again,
and if anyone else has gotten requests like this
recently, PLEASE share this information. The only way
this scam will ever be completely shut down is if
absolutely everyone knows that it is happening.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>I realize it is possible that Dr. Ram Kailash P.
Jadav sent this message, and I have sent a message to
him to confirm it, but I consider it HIGHLY UNLIKELY,
especially given that his institutional e-mail is not
via yahoo (see
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://cdbtu.edu.np/faculty/dr-ram-kailash-p-yadav">http://cdbtu.edu.np/faculty/dr-ram-kailash-p-yadav</a>).
Note that one of the known frauds above also involved a
person claiming to be associated with RECON. That alone
raises a red flag here. No one should respond to this or
similar solicitations until and unless you can obtain
independent confirmation that the request is genuine.
You should also file away the above information for
future reference in case you are contacted with similar
requests.<br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div><tt>Peace,</tt></div>
<tt> </tt>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Doug Yanega Dept. of Entomology Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314 skype: dyanega
phone: (951) 827-4315 (disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://cache.ucr.edu/%7Eheraty/yanega.html">http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html</a>
"There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82</pre>
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