Scammers took advantage of brides-to-be and exhibitors last week when they set up a Twitter account to promote a nonexistent bridal show. The scammers had set up the Twitter account as if they were representing The Boston 411, a legit community info site for Bostonites, and promoted preregistration for the bogus show to both attendees and exhibitors. Needless to say, the Twitter account, the site, and the bridal show were all scams, and police are on the hunt for those behind the charade.According to the Boston Globe, police began their investigation into the scam last week but held a press conference Monday to alert victims of the scam. Some 5,000 people paid for $15 tickets to the show, while 200 businesses shelled out $350 to $4,000 in hopes of exhibiting. Because the show was promoted to be taking place between March 5 through 7 (next weekend), police wanted to give victims the chance to cancel any travel plans they might have made.
The Twitter account in question has been promoting the show since September of 2009 and has somehow gotten 185 followers, despite the fact that nothing but that has been tweeted in the history of the account. Still, word of the show apparently reached far and wide, with interested parties getting out their wallets for nothing more than a (no longer available) Facebook page and a PayPal account. According to the Globe, scammers also managed to pull in at least one radio producer who had created ads for the show in exchange for a discounted booth rental.
On the one hand, it's hard to say what victims should have done differently to avoid this kind of scam. The promotion looked like it came through legitimate channels and it's not uncommon for bridal shows to sell preregistration tickets at a discount. A hundred people see it on Twitter, register, tell their friends, and boom. On the other hand, looking at that Twitter timeline sets off our spam radar.
If you or anyone you know has any information on what happened, the Boston police would like to hear from you at victims.bpd@cityofboston.gov.
Source: Arstechnica.com
