Scammers post about events to trick stallholders

Social media users are being warned of scammers impersonating the organisers of fairs and requesting payments for bookings for stands.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute described scammers using social media to impersonate event organisers as "a growing and deeply concerning trend".

Rob Chapman of Craft in Focus said one person had posted an fake online flyer for his event in Kent in September, asking prospective stall holders to email an address unaffiliated to Chapman's company.

When the BBC contacted that person they said: "Can you send me £200 so that I can answer your questions."

The BBC spent a week emailing the scammer, who called herself Anita, while purporting to be an artist considering selling their work for the first time.

"Anita" sent a "vendor application form" with stall options ranging from £60 per day for an indoor table to £180 for a catering van pitch.

After submitting the form, "Anita" contacted us to say the application had been approved and requested payment in advance of £240.

"Your space will be confirmed immediately after payment verification," the scammer told us.

The bank details and account name provided appeared to be for international payments companies. The BBC has not paid the scammer any money.

Chapman got in contact after noticing his event at Hever Castle in September was being impersonated, and told the BBC he was "impressed" by the lengths the scammer went to.

He said if potential exhibitors were "not aware of our style of marketing, how we do our visuals they could easily fall into that trap".

The scammer's application form "does look very, very good" and was "asking all the right questions" in order to appear legitimate, he said.

Hever Castle, near Edenbridge, said it had received an enquiry about "the legitimacy of a person claiming to be the event booker".

It added a warning to the event's page on the Hever Castle website advising the public to "be cautious of any messages" from unofficial sources offering exhibitor spaces or tickets.

The castle said it was "continuing to monitor the situation" and the event organisers were "managing any wider operational response".

Chapman said the impersonation of the Hever Castle event had followed "daily" comments on Craft in Focus's own social media posts from unaffiliated accounts claiming to be responsible for booking events.

He tells the BBC a member of staff "gets up early and clears them all out" before the comments are seen.

Chapman warned social media users "not to reply to any emails or telephone numbers that are put in the comments" and to contact organisers directly to make bookings.

Pepper Hill Garden Centre in Gravesend has also told the BBC a person unaffiliated with the centre was advertising a wedding fair at its site, which was not actually taking place.

The garden centre posted on its own social media that the event was a scam and "any such adverts or messages are not associated with us".

The scammer's post, which the garden centre shared with the BBC, was inviting wedding-related suppliers to call a number to arrange a space at the fictitious event for £70.

Rob Lilley-Jones from consumer group Which? said scammers were "continuing to adapt their behaviour" and this was something he saw "more and more".

"We have seen something similar, a sort of a copycat scam, where people are impersonating businesses," he told BBC Radio Kent, adding the group had also seen scammers "impersonating branches of government" such as HMRC.

Chartered Trading Standards Institute external affairs manager, Kerry Nicol, said the scams could be "a real financial hit for small businesses".

"We're increasingly seeing criminals embed themselves in local groups, targeting stallholders and small businesses and taking payments for events they have no right to sell - often leaving people significantly out of pocket," she said.

Nicol said group admins should "take steps to check posts before they're shared" and advised customers to "take a moment to pause and check before you pay".

"Look into the event, confirm who the genuine organisers are, and try to contact them through official channels," she said.

Lilley-Jones told the BBC people should avoid buying tickets on social media.

"If it looks too good to be true, it probably is," he said.

• If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC Action Line.

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