Exhibition industry officials in Australia are warning potential clients of a scam that has emerged recently in which exhibitors are being fooled into paying site fees to a company not associated with the exhibition industry.
In a message distributed through its own website and Australia’s government scam watchdog website, organizer Australian Events revealed that companies registered to participate in its fairs are being contacted by scammers and told that they need to pay certain fees by phone. Exhibit planners are then asked for credit card or bank account details, neither of which are actually used for exhibition fees, but rather to bilk the company out of funds.
Australian Events is cautioning its clients to be wary of any request for money, noting that it never uses a third party to collect fees for its events.
Companies that may have been caught by the scam are urged to contact Australian Events as well as Scamwatch, the Austrailian government’s consumer protection division (www.scamwatch.gov.au).
