Market & Event Scams Are Getting Harder to Spot: Check Before You Pay
Scams targeting market and event traders are nothing new, but some of the reports reaching IOMST show just how difficult they can now be to recognise.
A trader may find a genuine event, complete a genuine application and then receive a fraudulent follow-up email referring to that same application and asking for payment.
That can make the message look completely believable.
A Genuine Application Does Not Automatically Mean a Genuine Follow-Up
IOMST has received reports of market and event scams for a number of years, but this is now the second case we have dealt with where a trader completed a genuine organiser application and later received fraudulent correspondence connected with that application.
In one confirmed case involving the Samhain Festival of Food & Culture, the application form advertised through IOMST was genuine and applications were reaching the genuine organisers. However, some applicants later received fraudulent correspondence from another email address claiming that they had been accepted and requesting payment.
We have since had another report involving The Mill Christmas Market, organised by Fáilte Events.
One of our members received correspondence from a Gmail address about their application and requesting payment. The Gmail account also claimed that correspondence from the genuine Fáilte Events email address was itself a scam.
We contacted Fáilte Events directly using the established business email address we already had on record.
They confirmed that the Gmail address was fraudulent and that another vendor had received similar correspondence from a different Gmail account. The organisers have reported the matter to their local Garda station.
Fáilte Events confirmed that traders will only be contacted through info@failteevents.ie or their established Instagram account @failteevents, and never through a Gmail account.
They also confirmed that their genuine deposit link directs traders to a Revolut link associated with their business account, failtepicnics, and that they are currently collecting deposits rather than requesting payment in full.
The organisers have since added a warning to application emails, reviewed their application form restrictions and updated their passwords.
At present, IOMST does not know how the fraudulent senders obtained enough information to contact individual applicants, so we do not want to speculate.
The important point for traders is simple:
The event can be genuine, the application can be genuine, and the payment request can still be fraudulent.
Check the Email Address, Not Just the Name
Do not rely only on the name displayed in your inbox.
Compare the full email address with:
- the organiser’s official website
- their established social media accounts
- the email address provided with the original application
- previous genuine correspondence
Even a small difference is worth checking.
If you applied through a business email address and a later payment request suddenly comes from a Gmail account, verify it before paying.
Two Different People Contacting You?
If you receive conflicting messages from different email addresses, particularly where one tells you that the other is fraudulent, do not rely on either message to decide who is genuine.
Instead, independently find the organiser’s established contact details and contact them yourself.
Do not use a phone number, email address or payment link contained in the message you are trying to verify.
Before Paying for a Stall
Before sending money, check:
- Does the email address match the organiser’s known contact details?
- Is the payment request coming from the person or organisation you originally dealt with?
- Has a new email address appeared during the booking process?
- Can you independently confirm the payment details?
- Has the payment method suddenly changed?
- Are you being pressured to pay quickly?
If anything does not look right, do not pay until you have checked it directly with the organiser.
Please Continue to Let IOMST Know
We are very grateful to members who contact us when something looks unusual.
If an opportunity has been advertised through IOMST and the correspondence you receive does not match the details we provided, please let us know.
It allows us to check the information with the organiser and, where necessary, warn other traders.
A genuine event name is no longer enough. Always check who is actually contacting you before making a payment.
For more Information, Guides Help, Support or Advice. Get in touch with IOMST and become a member today!
Grainne & Greg
Just a little reminder:
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