An email from the International Human Rights & Aids Organization (IHRAA) is inviting individuals to attend their Annual International Summit. The alleged summit is scheduled to take place at the AMA Conference Center, New York City, 1601 Broadway, 6th floor, New York, NY 10019, United States, and Maison De La Culture Douta Seck, in Dakar, Senegal. According to their website, IHRAA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to promoting and protecting human rights globally, with a focus on individuals in closed and oppressed societies. The Annual International summit aims to tackle critical issues such as forced labor, human trafficking, drug abuse, unemployment, inadequate healthcare, and other major economic challenges. The International Human Rights & Aids Organization offers to cover registration fees, airfare, accommodation, and meal expenses once an individual registers. Registration is open to all individuals who wish to participate by submitting a filled registration form along with a scanned copy of a passport and hotel booking confirmation to the conference secretariat at info@ihraa.org.
According to the website (Ihraa.org), during registration, participants will receive the conference abstracts, proceedings book, a CD, and a certificate of presentation, fostering a sense of community and recognition for their contributions to this vital field. Anyone, whether as an individual or as a group of up to eight people representing a country, family, or organization, is welcome to participate in the upcoming conference, and you do not need to belong to a specific organization to attend this event. Additionally, IHRAA’s Annual Summit accepts group registrations and offers visa assistance by forwarding requests directly to the U.S. Department of State for same-day authorization; once approved, visa authorization will be sent to the U.S. Embassy in your country of residence.
The website (ihraa.org) states that the Human Rights Annual Conference on Economic Crisis, Child Protection, HIV/AIDS Treatment, Prostitution, and Sex Work brings together leading academics, researchers, and scholars to share their experiences and research findings on various aspects of International Human Rights Law. It further asserts that the annual summit serves as a dynamic interdisciplinary platform enabling experts, scholars, and advocates representing 33 countries across various disciplines to foster the exchange of ideas, collaboration, and dialogue on critical human rights issues.
According to the website (ihraa.org), International Human Rights and AIDS Organization (IHRAA) is a private, non-profit organization based in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1960 at the annual “Conference of Four State Commissions” in California. It further asserts that IHRAA is a global network of 62 member institutions dedicated to advancing research and education in the field of human rights by supporting thousands of people fleeing across the Syrian border each day, as well as those trapped by the ongoing violence within the country.
Background
Human rights organizations operate at the intersection of advocacy, humanitarian aid, and legal reform. Their work often focuses on defending vulnerable populations, lobbying for policy change, and providing support services. However, the sector’s reliance on donor funds, international goodwill, and often minimal oversight, especially in conflict zones or fragile states, has made it a target for exploitation. Additionally, international funding channels tend to have minimal vetting procedures, particularly in crisis zones, while the emotive nature of their fundraising appeals, featuring child victims or war crimes, can further shield them from scrutiny.
Asylum and migration scams are prevalent, with fake human rights organizations offering forged documents or false legal services to migrants in exchange for money. Even among legitimate organizations, inflated grant proposals can be a problem, where they overstate their impact or fabricate stories in order to secure larger grants and donations, further compromising the integrity of the human rights space. Scams that exploit the name or mission of human rights organizations not only cause harm to donors and victims but also undermine public trust in legitimate efforts. These fraudulent activities can inflict long-term damage on the credibility of NGOs, particularly those operating in sensitive or high-risk environments, and delay critical support for individuals who genuinely need assistance.
Several gaps in oversight and accountability of human rights organizations contribute to this vulnerability to abuse. Donor agencies often depend solely on reports and photos as proof of work, which can be manipulated. Regulatory bodies, especially in many developing countries, frequently lack the infrastructure or capacity to verify or monitor NGO activities effectively. A lack of whistleblower protection also discourages internal reporting of wrongdoing, allowing misconduct to go unchallenged. Furthermore, the rise of digital platforms has enabled scammers to impersonate or spoof legitimate organizations through professional-looking websites and social media profiles, expanding the reach and impact of fraudulent activity.
Verification
The first major red flag is the absence of any announced dates for IHRAA’s annual international summit. While the website provides vague information about the event’s agenda, it deliberately withholds specific timing details. This omission appears strategic, as it allows the scammers to prolong the scheme’s lifespan without being held to a timeline, increasing the chances of deceiving more victims over an extended period.
On ihraa.org the committee members’ names and photos are deceptively misrepresented. For instance, the individual listed as Prof. Isaac Yohanna, the supposed Africa Coordinator for IHRAA, is actually Chris Womack, the Chairman, President, and CEO of Southern Company, a major U.S. energy provider serving over 9 million customers. This deliberate misuse of a high-profile figure’s image is a clear attempt to lend false legitimacy and authority to the organization.
A Google reverse image search of the committee group photo on ihraa.org leads to a different source, earthyphotography.co.uk/corporate-headshots, as shown in the screenshot below. The images appear to have been downloaded from this professional photography site, with the names and titles on the website entirely fabricated. This tactic appears to be an attempt to falsely project professionalism and credibility by using unrelated, high-quality images.
A WHOIS.com lookup of ihraa.org reveals further suspicious details. The domain is registered to Kheweul.com SA, with an Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) ID of 1364. The listed abuse contact is kheweul@kheweul.com, and the phone number is +221 33 821 21 39. The registrant’s contact address is located in Dakar, Senegal. While none of these details alone confirm fraudulent activity, they add to the growing list of inconsistencies surrounding the website’s legitimacy.
A domain search for ihraa.org on who.is confirms the same details found on whois.com, including the registrar information and the IP address 76.76.21.21. The consistency across both platforms strengthens the credibility of the domain data, but also reinforces concerns about the site’s origins and intent.
According to AbuseIPDB, a platform dedicated to identifying and tracking malicious internet activity, the IP address 76.76.21.21, used by ihraa.org, has been reported for abuse 100 times by 28 distinct sources. AbuseIPDB helps webmasters, system administrators, and cybersecurity professionals flag and monitor IP addresses involved in spam, hacking, and other forms of online abuse. The number of reports tied to this IP raises serious concerns about the credibility and safety of the site.
Whitelisting is meant to enhance cybersecurity by allowing only trusted sources access to a system. However, scammers can exploit it by tricking organizations into whitelisting malicious emails or domains, bypassing spam filters, sending phishing emails, and spreading malware. This often involves social engineering tactics, where attackers manipulate people into compromising security. Spoofing, where attackers impersonate trusted entities, is another threat. To prevent this, organizations should implement email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), use anti-phishing tools, and train staff to recognize suspicious activity.
A scam flagged by the website Artists Against 419 involves a fake humanitarian group, the World Human Rights and Aids Foundation (WHRAF). The website provides a full public interface and database access via web services, enabling automated retrieval of flagged fake site entries. The wharf.org site information replicates key details from another site ihraa.org, using the same address—5609 Old Court Road, Baltimore—and identical phone numbers: +1 (770) 824-8695 and +1 (844) 381-2123. While the email differs to reflect the WHRAF name, the shared domain registrar, Kheweul.com SA, further confirms the scam connection.
The contact details listed on the scam website actually belong to a church and are unrelated to the fraudulent operation. The International Human Rights & Aids Organization (IHRAA) appears to masquerade as a human rights group, using the promise of a fully sponsored international summit to gather sensitive personal information and potentially exploit victims.
KHEWEUL.com SA has a history of involvement in scams, with multiple fraudulent sites flagged by scamsurvivors.com. According to scamsurvivors.com, their activity dates back to 2013, when their first reported fake site, Global California Youth CARE Foundation (californiafound.org), was exposed for online fraud. In 2014, they were linked to another scam site impersonating the Bank of Ireland (boionlinebanking.com). A few months later, they created a fake site for the California Welfare & Peoples Health Organization (CWPHO) (cwpho.org), which was also reported on the scamsurvivors.com forum.
In 2017, the same individual KHEWEUL.com SA behind ihraa.org, was linked to a similarly fraudulent conference under the name Pacific Health Welfare Organization California (PHWOC). This operation was flagged by Fraud Monitor, a service of the Union of International Associations (UIA) that tracks and reports potential scams.
This email exchange below is a textbook example of a conference scam, a type of advance-fee fraud where victims are lured with promises of sponsorship, free airfare, and accommodation, only to be asked to pay for fake services like hotel reservations or visa processing.
Individuals across the globe received invitation emails from Pacific Health Welfare Organization California (PHWOC), promoting a fabricated international conference scheduled to take place from July 3–5 in California, USA, and from July 10–12 in Dakar, Senegal. The emails promised full sponsorship, including round-trip airfare, accommodation in the U.S., and visa assistance allegedly coordinated with the U.S. State Department. Its stated goals, addressing issues such as economic crisis, child protection, HIV/AIDS treatment, prostitution, forced labor, and trafficking, mirror the agenda promoted by the current IHRAA “Annual Summit.” To add legitimacy and urgency, recipients were told they could win awards and were required to send passport and personal details for registration. However, this was later revealed to be part of an elaborate advance-fee scam, designed to trick participants into sending money for fake hotel bookings and other fabricated charges.
Attendees of the conference were required to pay upfront for hotel reservations in Dakar through a recommended partner, Adexeco Hotel, using untraceable payment methods such as Western Union, MoneyGram, or Ecobank Rapid Transfer. Multiple red flags point to a coordinated scam: the PHWOC website (www.phwoc.org) is now inactive and has no verifiable institutional affiliation. The supposed hotel, Adexeco Hotel, has no digital presence outside the scam emails, and its listed contacts are unverifiable. Additionally, the offer of U.S. visa approvals via fax, full travel sponsorship, and vague financial awards is both unrealistic and inconsistent with how legitimate international conferences operate. Victims were subjected to high-pressure tactics, tight deadlines, and promises that evaporated once payments were made.
This repetition of themes and tactics strongly suggests a rebranded continuation of the earlier scam. Scammers who obtain your personal information through passport scams can use it to commit identity theft. According to identity verification company Onfido, passports have surpassed national ID cards as the most frequently forged identity document. Passport applications require you to submit sensitive personal information, such as your Social Security number and proof of citizenship documentation (often a birth certificate). Thieves who get hold of this information have everything they need to commit identity theft. They can use it to open new credit accounts under your name, take out loans, drain your bank accounts, steal your tax refund, or use your health insurance. Identity thieves may also sell your information to other criminals on the dark web.
Upon sending an inquiry email to annualseminar.org requesting details on the terms, conditions, and registration process for attending the Annual International Summit in West Africa & USA, I received a response nearly a month later. The reply came from the same email address and welcomed me to the official contact address of the IHRAA 2025 Summit.
The response, signed by Dr. Christina Walker, Assistant Registrar, outlined a set of communication guidelines and required immediate action. It instructed participants to respond within 24 hours and emphasized regularly checking both inbox and spam folders to avoid missing critical updates. Delayed responses, it warned, could result in termination of the application.
Before any further steps, I was asked to respond to two key questions:
- Do you agree to our terms and conditions as outlined?
- Which country/nation will you be representing in the summit?
It is worth noting that there are inconsistencies in the communication. While the original email was addressed to “Moseler Thomas,” the response was signed by Dr. Christina Walker. This discrepancy further raises doubts about the legitimacy of the conference. Additionally, the contact address provided in the email, 5609 Old Court Road, Windsor Mill, Baltimore, matches that of a church, as shown above, and appears to have no affiliation with the purported organization. This further supports concerns that the operation may be fraudulent.
Verdict
The website and email associated with the Annual International Human Rights & Aids Organization (IHRAA) conference are FAKE.
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