UNESCO Scam Alert - Stay Vigilant
September 8th 2025
UNESCO has identified an ongoing phishing campaign fraudulently impersonating the organisation. The perpetrators impersonate UNESCO staff or institutions in highly convincing ways, targeting experts, students, and scholars with claims that they have been selected to participate in a UNESCO event or recruitment process; conditional upon payment or the sharing of personal information.
These emails are fraudulent and require vigilance. They may take various forms and often include the UNESCO logo or links to official UNESCO websites and may contain false signatures of current UNESCO staff.
However, they do not originate from legitimate or official UNESCO email addresses, their messages are not always consistent and ask for private information and/or credit card details or bank transfer requests. You should never reply to them nor submit personal or financial information and report them immediately to your email or Internet provider.
UNESCO never requests payment or fees including but not limited to events, prizes, recruitment, or scholarship procedures.
While UNESCO has been targeted by such scams in the past, there is a recent surge in this pattern. UNESCO urges its networks, partners, and affiliated institutions to remain alert and help raise awareness.
