Scam warnings
Third parties impersonate event organisers. Here is what they do, and how to check whether something claiming to be from connexU really is.
Last updated: 7 September 2026
A number of organisations target the events industry by pretending to act for an organiser. They approach exhibitors and attendees at our events - Retail Tech Marketplace, Retail Property Marketplace and Ecommerce Marketplace - and at events run by other organisers.
None of them is connected to connexU. We do not authorise anyone to use our name or our event brands to sell anything. If an approach does not match what is described below, treat it as suspect and check with us first.
Attendee and exhibitor list sales
Companies contact exhibitors offering to sell the attendee list for one of our events, usually by email, sometimes with a plausible-looking sample.
We do not sell, rent or share attendee lists. Not to exhibitors, not to sponsors, not to anyone. There is no list to buy, so anyone offering one either does not have it or has obtained it improperly.
Signs to look for:
- An email address that is not
@connexu.com.au, or a lookalike domain with an extra or missing letter - Pressure to buy before the event, or a discount that expires
- A price list for records, often quoted per contact
- A sample file attached to prove the list is real
Show guide and directory listings
Exhibitors receive a form that resembles an organiser's free catalogue listing service, inviting them to check their details and return it. The small print turns the signature into a multi-year contract for a paid entry in an online directory nobody reads, and an invoice follows.
These companies have no connection with connexU or with any of our events. They work from published exhibitor lists, so being targeted does not mean anything about your own systems.
Read the small print before you sign anything that arrives unsolicited. A free listing that needs a signature and a term is not a free listing. If you have already signed one, tell us - it helps us warn the rest of the floor.
Hotel and accommodation booking
Someone calls or emails claiming to hold a room block for a connexU event, often saying the rate expires that day and asking for card details over the phone.
We never call to take payment for accommodation, and we never ask for card details by phone or email. Where an event has a recommended hotel, it is named on that event's own website and you book with the hotel directly.
How to check, and what to do
If you are not sure whether something is from us, ask us before you reply to it.
- Forward the email or the form to hello@connexu.com.au and we will tell you whether it is ours
- Do not click links or open attachments in the meantime
- If you have already paid, contact your bank and report it to Scamwatch - the national reporting service run by the ACCC
We will always confirm in writing from an @connexu.com.au address, and we would rather answer ten questions about a genuine email than have one person pay an invoice that was never ours.
Not sure about something you have received? Forward it to hello@connexu.com.au and we will tell you whether it is ours. Our privacy policy sets out what we do with your information, and what we never do with it.