When Sue Britton retired two and a half years ago, she took up pottery. “I gave enough gifts to my friends and family that they were saying no more pottery. So I had to figure out how to go and sell it,” said Britton. She was eager to offer her colourful creations at the Out of Hand Modern Market, a Christmastime tradition in downtown Victoria. So when she got an email from someone claiming to be a market organizer encouraging her to apply for a booth, she did. When her application was accepted the next day, Britton was excited and pleased that the established market seemed familiar with her work. “They said we just love your work and your pottery is so beautiful. And the use of colour, which is kind of something that I think I’m kind of different with my pottery, is I like to use a lot of colour,” Britton said. The personal email convinced her to go forward with a booth at the market. ”Then they said, ‘But you have to pay the fee; you have to pay the vendor fee. You know, we need it ASAP,” Britton said. Äfter sending the $400, her bank called. “They said, ‘Well, we think this is fraud. Do you trust the person asking you for money?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, of course I trust them. It’s like a huge market.’ So, they put it through,” said Britton. She was asked to pay two more fees, and after forking over a total of $700, Britton got suspicious and decided to check the event website. She immediately saw a warning that fraudsters were impersonating the organizers. “She did reach out to verify what she had received, and unfortunately, it had not come from us,” said Bethany Wilson, the creator of the Out of Hand Modern Market. “The feeling was complete embarrassment,” said Britton. “How could I have been so stupid to have fallen for this scam?” The scam isn’t isolated to the Out of Hand Market. Vendors hoping to sell at this week’s Circle Craft Christmas Market in Vancouver have also been targeted, along with markets in other provinces. “The campaigns are very sophisticated,” said Wilson. “They scrub our websites, gather all the details they possibly can, down to some very specific details. Like the size of our booths, the price of our booths.” “The emails are very convincing when they’re sent to an artist or maker.” “The extent that they’re going to pretend that they’re actually the market is mind-blowing,” said Britton. “Maybe I should have been smarter, but it was pretty convincing.” Britton is out $700, which is typically what she earns selling her pottery over several months. “I think it’s awful to do that to someone who may end up not being able to go to any other markets for the rest of the year, because that was all the money they had,” Britton said. “They’re the smallest of the small businesses. So a lot of the time, these artists and makers are not only producing the beautiful goods that they produce; they’re doing absolutely everything. So their jobs are hard. To be targeting these people is really awful,” added Wilson. The scam has Christmas market organizers warning potential vendors to be on high alert. ”Only apply through our websites; if you have any doubt, then contact us through our official emails or our contact forms,” said Wilson. Britton says she learned her lesson the hard way. “I will listen to my bank next time,” she said. She is back to work on her pottery. After hearing her story, Wilson invited Britton to sell at this year’s Out of Hand Modern Market, for real this time. “I am just as excited, if not more, now that I know it’s legit,” Britton said. “I love that market.”
