Is this a scam - Exhibition in Beijing in 2008

Hello
I am used to be invited to show in events and museums and when I received the invitation by email that I pasted below I did not think much of it.
But then now as a second thought I wonder if it is a scam or a real thing?
Here is the first email and after the response to my submission.
Thank you very much for your work and help
Regards
xxxxx
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Message-ID: <20071216052805>
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Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:28:05 +0900 (JST)
From: <yoshima_matsui>
Subject: RE: BEIJING 2008 CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION
To: [email protected]
In-Reply-To: <001001c83f59>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0-483830364-1197782885=:70392"
X-Nonspam: Statistical 53%


ENTRY CONFIRMED. KINDLY AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTION.

YOSHIMA MATSUI




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New Design Yahoo! JAPAN 2008/01/01

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for <xxxxx>; 16 Dec 2007 05:28:07 -0000
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Message-ID: <20071216052805>
Received: from [41.219.216.33] by web3311.mail.ogk.yahoo.co.jp via HTTP; Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:28:05 JST
Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:28:05 +0900 (JST)
From: <yoshima_matsui>
Subject: RE: BEIJING 2008 CONTEMPORARY ART EXHIBITION
To: [email protected]
In-Reply-To: <001001c83f59>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0-483830364-1197782885=:70392"
X-Nonspam: Statistical 53%

Dear xxxxx,

Thank you for indicating your desire to participate. Detailed information about this event will be available on our website which will be posted as soon as we have completed the compilation of participants to enable their profiles be included in the website. In view of this, kindly fill out the below to enable your name be included for sponsorship if you so desire.

Meanwhile, note that only the first one hundred participants who apply, will benefit from the sponsorship scheme as a result of the scarce resources. Sponsorship benefits includes Airfare, Hotel Accomodation and Feeding.

If you are willing to grab this opportunity made available courtesy our sponsors, kindly furnish us with the information below.


Yours Sincerely,

Yoshima Matsui


Name:
Degrees, certifications, designations:
Business name:
Residential Address:
Town/State/Zip:
Phone: _______________________ Email: _______________________________________________
Fax: __________________________ Web Site: ___________________________________________
Profession or primary modality: _______________________
Description of modality (If you want your modality to be listed in the glossary please provide a 40 50 word description): __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Description for Directory and Website 75 word maximum: (use back of paper for additional space)
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Mod edit - domain keys and long lines removed to prevent forum blowout, also removed your name and email address - SP

Hi Ybo, yes, its a scam, the email was sent from this IP address:

41.219.216.33 = Nigeria

The scammers email address, [email protected] is listed as a fraudster if you do a Google search, see here:

http://www.google.com/search?client=ope ... 8&oe=utf-8

For reference, can you post the initial email you received, cheers.

!@#$!@#$!@#%
Ok thanks for confirming this...
Aaaaah!

Mod edit - edited to remove the email you posted, as it's the same as the one in your first post - SP

Hi Ybo, from the email you posted in your first post, it looked like you had been in previous discussions with him, that's why I asked you to post the initial email you received, I see you posted the same email above in your second post, as in your first post, so I assume there were no emails previous to that one.

I am late to reply but yes I did not have previous email or contact with these people....
I just posted another one about paypal...
I wonder how do they know that I have recently open an account on paypal or is it pure coincidence?
Anyway
Thanks for your great help and work
BTW
Happy New Year.
yves

I'll comment in your Paypal thread to let others know, but it's just a phishing email sent to people whose email addresses have been harvested from the internet.

I get them all of the time, along with account warnings from banks and EBay, even though I don't have accounts at any of those.

The goal is to trick somebody who really does have a PayPal account into following that link and knowingly (or unknowingly in the event of keyloggers) provide personal information which will allow the scammers to access accounts or credit card information.

The best thing to do with these is just delete them from your email account and never follow a link if you don't know who it belongs to.

I notice that you use AVG, which is a good thing. If you don't already, I would suggest using FireFox as your browser and installing the NetCraft tool bar. This will notify you if you are going into a suspicious site.