Staying safe from vendor-show scams
Scammers copy real shows. They take a host's flyer or Facebook post, message vendors pretending to be the host, and send a form to fill in and an invoice to pay by Zelle, Cash App, PayPal or gift card. Once that money is sent, it's usually gone. Here's how to tell a real show on My Vendor Show from a copy.
The one rule
If it isn't on your vendor page at myvendorshow.com, it isn't from the host.
- You apply on the show's own page, at myvendorshow.com/the-host/the-show. Never through a form someone sends you.
- Applying gives you your own vendor page, through the link in our first email. It shows your status, what you owe, your booth, and every message the host sends you through us.
- You pay only the way your vendor page shows: Pay now, or the other ways to pay the host lists there.
- Emails about a show come from applications@mail.myvendorshow.com, named “the host via My Vendor Show”. A host can also confirm an address of their own with us, and their show page names it.
Check an email address or link
Got a message about a show and not sure it's real? Paste the address it came from, or a link it sent you. The checker knows our own addresses, the addresses hosts have confirmed with us, and our show pages. It doesn't keep what you paste.
Signs of a scam
- A message you didn't ask for, offering you a spot, often in a Facebook comment or a direct message.
- Pressure: only a few spots left, pay today to hold yours.
- Paying by Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, PayPal Friends and Family or gift cards, outside your vendor page.
- A form on JotForm, Google Forms or a site like them, instead of the show's own page.
- An address that's almost ours, like myvendorshows.com or myvendorshow-payments.com.
- A “host” who won't let you apply on the show's page, or a show you can't find on myvendorshow.com.
Our addresses
Our site is myvendorshow.com, and our sister site is citywidegaragesales.com. These are the only addresses we use:
- applications@mail.myvendorshow.com: emails about shows and applications, for hosts and from us
- login@mail.myvendorshow.com: sign-in codes for hosts
- help@myvendorshow.com: our help desk
- hello@myvendorshow.com: general questions
- myvendorshow@gmail.com: our help desk's replies
If you think you've been scammed
- Don't send any more money, and don't share codes, passwords or card numbers.
- Call your bank, or report the payment in the app right away: Zelle, Cash App, Venmo and PayPal each have a way to report a scam. A card payment can often be disputed.
- Report it to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
- Tell the real host and us with Report a scam, with the address or link they used. Or write to us at help@myvendorshow.com.
For hosts
- Your show's page and application form tell vendors to apply and pay only there.
- Write to vendors with Email vendors on your show's Applications tab, so it's on each vendor's page too.
- Confirm an email for vendors' replies on your Account page, so your show's page can name it.
- Link to your show's page from Facebook, flyers and posts, and tell vendors you never message first to sell a spot.