This is standard. I don't really like it either but all conferences I've attended do this and they aren't scams. I'm not sure if there is a deliberate reason or

This is standard. I don't really like it either but all conferences I've attended do this and they aren't scams. I'm not sure if there is a deliberate reason or if it's just the natural order of conference logistics. You always have the option of not buying a ticket until seeing the speakers list, but you risk losing your early bird pricing or the conference selling out. I suppose that if attendees have so much confidence that they are willing to commit before seeing the speaker list and the conference sells out, one can't really argue against this model.