Exhibitors Scam Alert!
Scams are, unfortunately, part of business life – and the Exhibition & Conference sector is not exempt. Most regular exhibitors and advertisers will have been approached with one or more of the popular scams property investment, however new clients should be aware of the 4 below:
Scam Warning 1: ‘Attendee Lists’ or ‘Delegate Lists’ for sale (at a very attractive price!)
Please be aware that there are a number ‘hoax’ companies, targeting exhibitors to try and persuade them to buy lists of the contact details of visitors who have attended (or are planning to attend) The Property Investor Show.
PLEASE DO NOT respond to any such emails. We do NOT sell or rent out our visitor lists – to do so would be a clear breach of our privacy rules.
These hoax companies are all based outside the UK.
Scam Warning 2: ‘Guides and Directories’
Third parties using names such as International Fairs Directory, Expo Guide, Fairguide and various others have been targeting exhibitors for paid entries into show guides.
These usually arrive by post and purport to be from an event organiser ( e.g. The Property Investor Show), but please be aware that any paperwork received from the any of these companies is NOT linked to our event.
A form is used which resembles an exhibition organiser’s free catalogue listing service, inviting exhibitors to complete the form for an entry in a published or on-line directory.
Exhibitors who sign and return these forms become contracted into a three-year agreement.
If you have been caught out, don’t panic. The advice from the AEO (Association of Exhibition Organisers) is as follows:
- Do not pay anything
- Ignore them completely – do not communicate with them in any way, even if they threaten legal action.
- Report it to your local trading standards.
- Keep a log of all correspondence and contact from them.
Scam Warning 3: Ancillary Services
You may also be approached by stand designers/builders, graphic designers, hotel booking agents etc who may claim to be working on behalf of The Property Investor Show but are not.
The Property Investor Show approved contractors are listed in the on-line Exhibitor Manual – or may be obtained from us directly.
We only work with our approved contractors and will never forward your details to third parties.
Scam Warning 4: “New Exhibitions”
Periodically you may be approached by parties claiming to be organising a new property exhibition (virtual and/or in person editions).
We recommend the exercise of due diligence in dealing with such approaches.