Technology is a wonderful addition to our 21st century lives, but along with all the good it brings, there is a darker side to it. Scammers and other dishonest people have taken to social media and email like a duck to water and are finding new ways to trick unsuspecting members of the public into sending them money.
In recent years craft show events and craft show vendors have been a target for these scams and according to the Better Business Bureau there have been numerous reports of fake craft shows in 2023. Unfortunately social media companies and email hosts can’t seem to do much to prevent the scammers so it’s up to each of us to look out for scams and help our artisan community keep up to date on the latest scams to look out for.
CRAFT SHOW SCAM RED FLAGS:
- The person claiming to be an event coordinator contacts you through messages from a personal account. While this is not always an indication of a scam, in our experience scammers often operate using fake or hacked social media accounts. Handmade Nashville admins will only communicate with you through our official Facebook or Instagram accounts, our Facebook groups and email address.
- You see a comment on a legitimate event post from a personal account asking you to contact them directly. Take note of who the comment is from and if it’s not the original poster (OP), it could be a fake account.
- You get an unsolicited message or email directing you to a link or form that asks you to send money as “friends and family”. If this does turn out to be a scam, it may be impossible to recover money sent this way and it’s not recommended. If the person insists that is the only way they can get the money or that it’s “the fastest way”, don’t believe them and if you really are intent on giving them your money send it as a regular payment so you’re protected.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK YOU’VE BEEN SCAMMED
- First things first: don’t blame yourself! This is not your fault, some of these scammers put a lot of effort into making themselves appear legitimate and they’re counting on the fact that small business owners are busy and distracted. Take some deep breaths and focus on what to do next.
- Contact the real event coordinators through their official social media accounts or website and ask them if they have received your application.
- Once you have confirmed the scam, report the email or fake profile as spam to your email provider or social media platform
- Contact your bank or financial institution and ask if they can help you reverse the payment
- Report the scammer to the legitimate event coordinator so that they can let their vendors know to be on the alert
- Reach out for support. The Handmade Nashville Artisan Group is a welcoming space for crafters and, once you’ve been added to the group, you can ask questions at any time. One of our experienced members or an admin should be able to offer some words of comfort and advice.
- Paypal recommends changing your passwords if you disclosed any financial or personal data on a suspicious website.
HOW TO SPOT A FAKE CRAFT SHOW
Unfortunately, these scammers are persistent and it’s going to require a little bit of due diligence on your part to keep yourself safe from them.
- Always be on the alert when signing up for events and especially when sending money. A real event coordinator won’t mind if you contact them through their website or social media account to verify if a link is safe.
- When responding to emails or messages on social media, take a second to see who the email is coming from. If it doesn’t look legitimate, again it’s OK to double check with the official account page or website.
- If there is a request to send money to a personal cash app, Paypal, venmo or other platform as a “friends and family”, just don’t. You won’t have to pay any extra fees to send as a regular purchase and paying this way will guarantee payment protection in most cases. The fees are paid by the person receiving the payment and legitimate events will have taken this into consideration in their pricing.
It’s important to note that while they sympathize with vendors who have been scammed, event coordinators are also victims in these scams as it affects their reputation and causes extra work to ensure that they are taking all possible precautions. The legitimate event didn’t receive your app and payment and they will probably still require you to pay the event fees and fill out the real application. It’s also possible that they may be unable to offer you a spot if the event is already full.
Handmade Nashville’s events have been targeted on Facebook for the past several years, but this year the scammers stepped up their game and emailed vendors (including some of our admins which was somehow hilarious). They copied our application form almost entirely including the event graphics and real event information, but directed payment to a personal Paypal account. As of the time of writing, we are unsure how many people received the fake email, but we are doing all we can to make our vendors aware of this scam and to be alert for future scams. If you think you may have responded to a fake email, please reach out to us using the contact form on our site or through our Facebook page. Our 2023 events are listed on our home page.
Stay safe out there my friends!
