Spotting Event Scams in Your Inbox
In today’s episode of Scammers be Scammin’, we are reviewing an email I received this morning. They clearly chose the wrong person to try this with, but hey, let’s turn it into a learning experience for everyone!
Subject
On first glance, I notice that this email is referencing an actual event that I am familiar with and have worked with many times. Shopping Days Vendor Markets ARE LEGIT, but this email is NOT. We will start scrutinizing the email shortly, but I just wanted to first point out that a quick google search will bring us several results from this event series, both past and present.
Sender
I am unfamiliar with the name, Barbara Hughes, that is displayed on the sender information. I am, however, very familiar with the actual event coordinator for Shopping Days Vendor Markets, Paola Ruiz. This person is NOT them. That alone is a major red flag.
Event Details
The event details in this email match the event details that I was able to find on their event listing on DFW Craft Shows. I can confirm that this event is happening on this day at this location, but that’s not enough to believe this email is legit. Let’s keep going.
Vendor Details
Sending out emails announcing cancellations and soliciting vendors to apply and pay through said email is not standard practice for most events. I know for a fact that is definitely not standard practice for Shopping Days Vendor Markets. This alone is another big red flag.
I can also compare the vendor information, booth sizes, and booth prices between this email and the event listing on DFW Craft Shows and notice a variety of discrepancies. This email shows 7 different booth configurations and prices. The event listing on DFW Craft Shows shows one booth size and corresponding price.
Contact Info
Double-checking the event listing on DFW Craft Shows, I can once again verify that this person is NOT an officially listed contact for the event. As an additional precaution, I can forward this email to the event coordinator, Paola, to inquire about its legitimacy. In this particular example, I received an almost instant response confirming this person is NOT ASSOCIATED with their event.
Conclusion
This person is obviously trying to scam folks by pretending to be the event coordinator for a legit event series that they have no association with. They are probably harvesting email addresses and contacting vendors individually to build a mailing list and hopefully make a quick dollar off of unsuspecting small businesses.
Follow Up
As a final confirmation of this being a scam, I present to you yet another email I received from the same sender, just one day later, to a different email address of mine. The email had a different (legit) event name in the email subject. Other than changing the basic event details (name, date/times, address), the rest of the email was identical to the first email I had received.
It appears this person is sending out as many different versions of this email as they can as quickly as they can. They are spoofing many different legit events in an effort to land as many payments as possible before folks catch on.
More Tips
Looking for more tips on how to identify scammers OR want to find reliable event information without all the scam hassle? DFW Craft Shows offers an events calendar with vetted information alongside a variety of vendor resources including:
- a guide to identifying event scams on social media
- 5 steps to scam proof your event
- and so much more!
Reminder
DFW Craft Shows shares event information as a service, but I do not run any of the events. I am NOT an event coordinator, and I will NEVER contact you in an attempt to collect payment for booth fees, vendor shirts, hotel reservations, etc.
If an event coordinator is contacting you claiming to be from DFW Craft Shows or collecting payment using the DFW Craft Shows logo, you’ve just unearthed yet another red flag.
Originally posted on April 07, 2026.
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Hi, I'm Tania!
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