Scammers continue to prey on small community festivals

The Wellesley Apple Butter & Cheese Festival says its vendors were targeted by a phishing scheme. CTV’s Krista Simpson reports.

Another community event has been targeted by scammers.

Organizers for the Wellesley Apple Butter & Cheese Festival said someone sent out emails to its vendors requesting an insurance deposit of $248.

“As part of the event requirements, confirmed vendors may be required to submit a refundable vendor/security deposit prior to the event,” the fake message said.

The people targeted by the scammers were told to send the money through Interac, using one of two fraudulent email accounts: [e-mail] or [e-mail].

“This is a scam and not a legitimate request,” organizers wrote in a social media post. “If we have accepted you as a vendor for the 2026 festival, we have already been in contact with you about payment and we will not ask you for additional fees.”

Jamie Reid, the chairman of the Wellesley Apple Butter & Cheese Festival, became aware of the scheme when a local vendor, Silver Creek Nursery, ran into trouble at their bank.

“They actually clicked the link and tried to send the money,” he told CTV News. “Thankfully the bank blocked the transaction because they didn’t think it was a safe transaction.”

Reid said living in a small community has its perks.

“Honestly, if [the scammers] were a little smarter and kept it out of our town, we probably wouldn’t have any idea it was happening.”

Zack Muma is the co-owner of Silver Creek Nursery.

“The form was identical, other than there was a price discrepancy on the form,” he said. “When we inquired about that, they basically told us there were two different rates, depending on what type of vendor category you fall under. So, it seemed legit.”

In the week since that first incident, other local businesses have shared similar stories.

“We don’t solicit vendors as a rule,” Reid said. “For the most part, vendors come to us.”

Business owners are encouraged to reach out if they have any questions about the event on Sept. 26.

“Do not send any money to an outside source,” Reid advised. “Make sure you confirm with us before you send any money.”

The only legitimate email addresses used by the festival are [e-mail] or [e-mail].

Similar scams

The Wellesley Apple Butter & Cheese Festival is just the most recent victim of this type of phishing scam.

The City of Kitchener warned of a similar incident on June 26.

“In this scam, fraudsters contact small business owners via email, claiming to represent the city’s special events team, offering ‘exclusive’ vendor opportunities for the Christkindl Market,” they wrote in a media release. “The email uses specific details about the event and links to legitimate city webpages to dupe the recipient into sending money.”

Someone has also been pretending to represent the City of Cambridge.

“Scammers have contacted small business owners via email, asking them to apply to be part of Winterfest’s Holiday Market with a link to a fake application. The email uses details about the event to dupe the recipient into sending money,” they wrote on Aug. 4. “The City of Cambridge would never use unofficial channels to contact residents. The only way to apply to be part of the Cambridge Holiday Market is to use the link listed on the city’s website.”

Troubling trend

Smaller events are easy targets.

“[The scammers] probably know we wouldn’t have the resources to track this down or even notice it till its over,” Reid said. “If that bank draft would have gone through for the first person, we probably wouldn’t have heard anything.”

Most smaller events are organized and run exclusively by volunteers.

“We have no way of stopping it,” said Reid. “Our IT department is like, ‘It’s a Gmail account. What do you do with it?’”

The request itself may also seem reasonable.

“It’s only $248,” explained Reid. “It would probably look more like a scam if it was $1,000. People are like, $248, that’s not that big of a deal so they may possibly go through with paying it.”

He doesn’t want anyone else to fall for the fake emails.

“[The scammers are] very sneaky. I’m really worried that festival day is going to come around and we’re going to have who knows how many vendors that we’re not expecting because they’ve paid money to these people and they’ve taken that money and ran.”

Message from police

Waterloo Regional Police said these types of phishing schemes are increasingly common.

“They will just send out these mass emails, hoping that someone clicks on it,” said Const. Brad Hickey. “Maybe one individual, maybe 10 individuals. Fraudsters are looking for quick payment and then move on to the next scam.”

They can involve emails, texts or fake websites.

Hickey said, at first glance, the message may appear legitimate with real logos and active links.

One red flag is an urgent demand for money. Others may not be so obvious.

“Fraudsters will typically change the email address, maybe by adding a number or one different letter. But when you click on that [link] to provide payment. It goes to the fraudster,” Hickey said. “It’s highly unlikely you’re going to see your money again.”

Recipients should never rush to make a financial decision.

“If it doesn’t seem right, take the extra couple minutes to verify the information,” Hickey suggested.

Kitchener and Cambridge said they do not use Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail or any other web-based email service. Anyone who gets an email from those addresses claiming to represent the city, is urged to contact [e-mail] or [e-mail] for verification.

Fraud should always be reported to local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, even if no money was taken.

“Please report these incidents to police,” Hickey said. “These incidents are tracked and we’re able to assign officers to investigate them.”

With reporting from Krista Simpson