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A small business owner in Mount Pearl says she was the victim of a scam, and is warning others ahead of the holidays.
Claudia Fimbres, owner of Mamacita Latin Kitchen and Market, told CBC News she unknowingly signed up for a fake seasonal market, at the cost of $150.
“I started digging more and then it’s like … it’s gone. There was no post about it, there was no information,” Fimbres said. “I never heard back [from] them.”
Fimbres said she saw the Facebook post in November. The poster was calling for vendors to join a holiday market in the historic St. John’s neighbourhood Quidi Vidi on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7. The venue would be the Quidi Vidi Village Artisan Studios.
Fimbres said she reached out to the Facebook poster, was asked for $100 to book a small booth and got an email back with an event pass. She was then asked for another $50 to cover a license fee and was warned that if she didn’t send the money, she would lose her booth.
Then, she was asked for another $40 to pay for parking.
Fimbres said she started to suspect something was wrong and decided to drop out of the event and ask for a refund. She didn’t get a reply, and after a few days contacted the real Quidi Vidi Village Artisan Studios.
This is when she found out the poster was a scam, taking information from a real event — Merry Makers Market — happening on the same weekend and at the same venue.
Daniel Rumbolt, executive director of the Quidi Vidi Village Artisan Studio, said it is not the first time scammers have used their name or events for fake posts. But not on this scale.
“We found about half a dozen in different Facebook groups. Some groups had multiple posts in a row,” he said. “They all looked a little bit different but it was very evident that they stole the imagery of the posters we designed.”
Claudia Fimbres, owner of Mamacita Latin Kitchen and Market, is eager to get the name and business out in the community. So when she saw an upcoming market, she signed up — and paid — not knowing it didn’t exist. The CBC’s Gema Pazmino reports.
But not all was lost. The organizers of the Merry Makers Market invited Fimbres to join the real event after hearing about her situation.
“[It’s] super frustrating because you have the best intentions, like obviously, to promote your business, be there, make [a] presence,” she said. “When these types of situations happen it’s like … what a bummer.”
In a statement to CBC News, the RNC cautions business owners to be wary when making payments to unknown people or organizations, and report any suspicious online activity.
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