Avoid Fraud

Events on the scale of MWC Barcelona inevitably attract bad actors trying to take advantage. We advise all exhibitors and attendees to stay vigilant, especially when it comes to receiving spurious emails claiming to offer attendee lists (which are simply phishing scams arising from a combination of screen-scraping publicly available information and guesswork and not the result of any unauthorised access to GSMA systems – the “data” these companies provide is predominantly random, potentially fictional email addresses with no connection to individuals who have attended/are attending MWC).

To try to find people to sell their worthless lists to, the spammers will scan social media looking for news about which organisations are attending MWC. They will then comb through publicly available information to locate or guess the email addresses of individuals who work for those companies.

GSMA takes attendees’ privacy incredibly seriously and we will never sell personal data to anyone or allow a third party to do so on our behalf. If you are approached by a suspicious company or have any questions, our customer support team will be happy to help you. We are grateful for your cooperation in bringing such fraudulent activity to our attention and direct all correspondence to our Legal department who then carry out enforcement action as a matter of priority.

The official accommodation partner for MWC is bnetwork, and only they are authorised to use the GSMA logo and MWC Barcelona trademarks.

While other genuine accommodation providers are available, there are also, unfortunately, fraudulent accommodation websites. Stay alert if you receive any emails offering you rooms for the week of the event or any confusing content. Fraudulent companies may repeatedly email event participants with bogus offers. Pay particular attention to websites and emails specifically mentioning MWC Barcelona. These websites will misappropriate official logos and trademarks to attempt to trick you into believing they are official or legitimate. Whilst their promotions may look attractive, once they have your money, you may find they then cease all contact and disappear.

Many attendees then contact the hotel directly about the room they have booked, only to realise that the hotel has no record of them or their stay. This means lost money, as well as a last-minute rush to find accommodation which is often inconvenient and expensive.

If you are approached by a suspicious company or have any questions, our customer support team will be happy to help you.

How you can avoid fraud

Here are some handy things to check before booking:

• Don't assume that use of MWC Barcelona name and logo on websites or emails means that an accommodation provider is legitimate or authentic. The GSMA only authorises its official accommodation provider bnetwork to use the GSMA logo and MWC Barcelona trademarks.
• If you intend to use a company other than bnetwork, then please ensure you undertake the requisite due diligence to ensure that they are a bona fide accommodation provider.
• Use credit cards to guarantee your rooms, rather than wire or bank transfers (unlike wire or bank transfers, credit cards offer some form of consumer protection).

If you have booked through an alternative accommodation provider please contact them directly.