10/04/2026
🚨 VENDORS — PLEASE STOP SCROLLING AND READ THIS. THIS COULD HAPPEN TO YOU. 🚨
I lost $760 to a scammer who had me completely convinced I was communicating with the actual event organizers.
I was legitimately accepted as a vendor for Christmas at the forum. I received emails using the event’s logo, branding, and information that appeared completely legitimate. Nothing about it initially screamed “SCAM.”
Even my bank flagged the payments — TWICE.
And I still approved them because I genuinely believed I knew exactly who I was sending the money to.
I didn’t.
Yesterday I found out I had been communicating with a scammer the entire time.
I’m sharing this because I am embarrassed, angry, and honestly a little sick over it — but I would feel even worse if another vendor lost hundreds or thousands of dollars because they made the same mistake I did.
Scammers are getting REALLY good at looking legitimate.
And if I hadn’t caught this yesterday, I could have shown up to the event with thousands of dollars worth of product, ready to set up my booth, only to discover that I didn’t actually have a vendor spot at all.
That thought absolutely breaks my heart.
So please — verify EVERYTHING. Call the event directly. Confirm your name is on the vendor list. Confirm payment instructions independently. And if your bank flags a payment, STOP and investigate before approving it.
I thought I was being careful.
I wasn’t careful enough.
$760 later, I’m sharing this lesson so hopefully someone else doesn’t have to learn it the hard way.
PLEASE SHARE THIS AND IF YOUR A VENDOR AT THE FORUM PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU ACTUALLY ARE!!!