Scammers impersonating Alberta attractions, offering tickets at inflated prices

Fraudsters are taking advantage of AI to create fake social media posts asking for direct payment to be included in major Calgary festivals.

Whether you’re buying tickets to see a performance at Theatre Calgary or hoping to apply as a vendor at the Calgary Stampede or the Banff Christmas Market, you’re being warned to be cautious of scammers.

The Calgary Stampede and the Banff Christmas Market say they have been dealing with fraudsters impersonating them and attempting to collect payments or personal information from prospective vendors, while Theatre Calgary has dealt with unauthorized sellers offering tickets at inflated prices.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

Experts say advances in artificial intelligence are making many of the schemes increasingly difficult to detect.

Fake communications target would-be Stampede vendors

The Calgary Stampede says it has seen fraudulent communications circulating online that falsely claim vendors can pay up front or e-transfer funds to apply for exhibition space at the annual event.

“It’s really unfortunate, and we’re extremely disappointed to see some of the communications that are coming out about the event,” said Ashley Warner, midway manager with the Calgary Stampede.

“We are just extremely disappointed to see this happen. That’s certainly not in the spirit of the Calgary Stampede. We’re built on trust, community and coming together.”

Warner said some people have received emails while others have encountered online posts seeking vendors for future Stampede seasons.

The organization is warning potential vendors that legitimate communications only come through official Calgary Stampede channels.

“Any communication from us will come through the Calgary Stampede in our emails,” Warner said.

“We will never ask for any e-transfers. We’ll never ask you to send us any money in advance. We have a secure payment portal.”

Warner says applications for the current season of the Stampede closed months ago and successful applicants have already been notified or placed on a waitlist.

“Our regular applications actually closed in January,” she said.

“So, this is fraudulent, please do not provide them any payment. Do not give them your data or any information. When in doubt, please reach out.”

Banff Christmas Market battling impersonation

The Banff Christmas Market says it has been dealing with similar issues for several years.

“It’s been really unfortunate,” said Hayley Mulhern, co-owner of the Banff Christmas Market.

“Since 2022, we’ve been experiencing a high volume of spam accounts that have been impersonating the Christmas market.”

Mulhern says the fraudulent emails initially contained warning signs.

“It was quite obvious that they were not legitimate emails. They had wonky text, lots of typos, incorrect dates.”

“But as the years progressed, it’s definitely become more polished and more professional forms of spam.”

According to Mulhern, scammers have copied marketing materials, distributed newsletters and even duplicated the market’s application forms.

Many of the emails also come from accounts that misspell the word Banff with one less ‘f’ or ‘Christmas’ with an additional ‘s’ to appear as if they were legitimate accounts.

“They’ve been sending out newsletters. They’ve been using professional images, they’ve included hotel promotions, and they’ve also duplicated our application form using the same software that we use.”

In some cases, scammers have also impersonated local residents familiar to vendors.

“Local vendors in the area would recognize that name and assume it was a legitimate request for them to participate in our market, which is obviously not true.”

Those who engage with the fraudsters are then often asked to submit applications and payments.

“These spam accounts then would respond to people who had engaged with them, confirming them as part of their market, accepting payment and then they go radio silent.”

Mulhern said the best defence is carefully verifying who is sending the communication.

“The most important thing is looking at that domain name,” she said.

“All official communication would come from our official domain name.”

She says that suspicious forms are routinely reported and removed, but new ones continue to emerge.

“It’s a bit like a cat-and-mouse chase.”

Theatre Calgary warns about third-party ticket sellers

While some organizations are dealing with impersonation scams, Theatre Calgary says its concern centres on third-party ticket sellers charging significantly more than face value.

The issue surfaced during the company’s production of Come From Away, a Broadway hit that has generated strong demand.

“For most of our shows, we don’t ever have any issues with our tickets being available on the secondary market,” said Christopher Loach, media relations representative with Theatre Calgary.

“But when we do a show with Broadway name recognition like Come From Away, we tend to see secondary sites pop up."

Loach says patrons began contacting the theatre company after finding tickets advertised online for several hundred dollars in U.S. currency.

He says many consumers encounter the sites while searching online for tickets, and in some cases, tickets are being sold for upwards of five times more than face value.

“And of course, we don’t sell our tickets in U.S. dollars,” he said.

“But sometimes if you’re just Google searching tickets to Theatre Calgary, you’ll have these secondary sites pop up.”

The theatre has responded by encouraging patrons to purchase directly from its website or box office.

“We’ve been trying to be proactive and reach out to everyone, just to go make sure you always buy your tickets directly through us, because you won’t be paying an exorbitant amount for a ticket.”

Loach said Theatre Calgary has also worked to keep tickets affordable through its Theatre for All initiative.

“For the last three years, we’ve worked really hard through our Theatre for All program to make tickets affordable and accessible, starting as low as $49.”

“We want to make sure the arts are affordable and that your money support the arts groups here and is not going into the pockets of a secondary seller.”

Tickets for Come From Away can be purchased online at theatrecalgary.com or by phone at 403-294-7447.

AI making fraud more convincing

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says reports involving people falsely claiming to represent festivals have become increasingly common.

“We are received more and more reports of these types of fraud,” said Jeff Horncastle, communications outreach officer with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Horncastle said scammers often target vendors hoping to secure space at major events.

One of the most common tactics is creating urgency.

“Urgency is always a big one, where you have to send the payment immediately because there’s a bunch of vendors in line.”

“So always take the time you need to verify the legitimacy.”

He warns that advances in artificial intelligence are also helping fraudsters create increasingly convincing communications.

“These AI tools make it look extremely legitimate,” he said.

“We just have to be aware from the beginning that those tools are there, even if the graphic design looks really well done.”

Anyone with concerns can report fraudulent activity to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca.

Experts urge consumers to buy direct

Cybersecurity expert Tom Keenan says consumers can protect themselves by dealing directly with organizations whenever possible.

“If there’s a dollar to be made, some scammer is going to try.”

Keenan says buyers should avoid taking shortcuts when purchasing tickets or applying for events.

“The rule is always to go directly to the source for your ticket.”

He also recommends using credit cards rather than direct transfers whenever possible.

“The reason is when you use a credit card is it’s the bank’s money until you get billed at the end of the month.”

“If there’s a dispute, you can deal with the credit card company and there’s a whole army of people there who will fight for you.”

By contrast, other payment methods often offer little recourse.

“If you do a direct bank transfer or use Western Union or something like that, your money’s gone.”

As artificial intelligence continues to improve, Keenan also said consumers should be increasingly skeptical of online advertisements and unsolicited messages.

For vendors, ticket buyers and eventgoers alike, experts say the safest approach remains verifying information through official channels before sharing personal information or sending money.

“Always buy your ticket from the official source,” said Keenan.