Scammers are copying a Newfoundland craft council's look and tone to sell fake vendor tables. One shop owner lost several thousand dollars.
Scammers are pretending to be the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador and offering market vendors a table at holiday fairs. The goal is to collect fees and personal details. One St. John's shop owner already lost several thousand dollars to a similar trick tied to a different fair.
The council runs an annual Christmas Craft Fair from Nov. 5 to Nov. 8 at the Jack Byrne Arena in Torbay. Executive director Melissa Tarrant says fake messages began last year on social media. This year they started about five or six months ago. After the council posted that it does not contact people over social media, the scammers switched to email.
Tarrant said it is almost impossible to tell the messages are not from the council. They look like the council and sound like it. They also send people to an online form, because the real application is an online form too.
That form lets scammers collect money for tables and personal information at the same time. Scammers are also contacting other organizations to pass along calls for vendors, which can make a fake offer seem more believable.
Renée Thistle owns Jack of all Tails, a St. John's retail, dog training and boarding business. She asked to be a vendor at Christmas at the Glacier in the spring and was put on a waitlist. Months later, an email said space was open. She filled out a form and paid by e-transfer.
She grew suspicious when she heard nothing about setting up. She then saw that the sender's address did not match the official one. The event co-ordinator confirmed it was a scam. She has since taken extra shifts at another job and plans to attend more markets to make up the loss.
Crafters, small business owners and market vendors who apply for holiday fairs and pay fees by e-transfer are the people at risk. The story does not describe shoppers being targeted. Still, anyone who pays an event fee online can learn from it.
The alert box above lists the steps. The key habit is to check the sender's address before sending money or details. The council says its only official emails end in craftcouncil.nl.ca. Anything else is not from the council.
Tarrant says the council is not aware of anyone who has fallen for the council scam. She also says it may not know until setup day at the fair, when problems tend to come out. Police have been contacted and ask anyone who receives a message from the scammer to report it. Thistle has not reported her case to police, but the scammer's email has been flagged.
Before paying any fair or market fee, check that the sender's email matches the organizer's official address, and confirm with the organizer directly.
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