Summer is a great time for outdoor festivals of many kinds featuring, food, crafts, entertainment and more. Unfortunately, as always, scammers are ready to take advantage of the public’s interest in these popular festivals by selling tickets online for non-existent events. Reports surfaced earlier this week in Chicago about a Taco Fest Chicago festival slated to occur this weekend, however, unfortunately for the people who bought tickets online for the event, it appears to be a scam. According to Chicago officials, no permit for Taco Fest was issued. The promoter of the event, Fanoomies Entertainment was apparently also the promoter of the non-existent Sushi Fest in Sacramento earlier this Spring. The address listed for Fanoomies in its California filings list a non-existent address. This story was widely investigated and reported on by the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and North Illinois as well as Chicago television stations Fox 32 and NBC’s Chicago affiliate.
TIPS
Before paying for tickets to any festival online, check out the promoter of the festival with your state’s Secretary of State to learn if they are legitimate. Investigate whether or not the promoters have had any complaints against them filed with state or federal authorities. Also, scammers will often pick the names for their phony festivals to appear similar to legitimate festivals. Confirm that the tickets you are buying are for a legitimate festival and not one with a name that merely misleads you. Finally, always pay online for anything you purchase with your credit card rather than your debit card. Your credit card provides protection from fraudulent charges that your debit card does not.
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