An entrepreneur in Mount Pearl has come forward with a cautionary tale, revealing that she fell victim to a scam and is now urging others to stay vigilant, especially during the holiday season.
Claudia Fimbres, the proprietor of Mamacita Latin Kitchen and Market, shared with CBC News her unfortunate experience of unwittingly registering for a fraudulent seasonal market, resulting in a loss of $150.
Reflecting on the ordeal, Fimbres expressed her disbelief, stating, “I started digging more and then it’s like … it’s gone. There was no post about it, there was no information. I never heard back from them.”
According to Fimbres, the deception began when she encountered a Facebook post in November calling for vendors to participate in a holiday market set to take place on December 6 and 7 in the historic St. John’s neighborhood of Quidi Vidi, specifically at the Quidi Vidi Village Artisan Studios.
Subsequently, Fimbres engaged with the Facebook post, was prompted to pay $100 to secure a small booth, received an event pass via email, was then asked for an additional $50 as a license fee, with a warning that failure to remit the sum would result in losing the booth. Later, she was requested to pay $40 for parking.
As doubts crept in, Fimbres decided to withdraw from the event and requested a refund. However, after receiving no response, she reached out to the authentic Quidi Vidi Village Artisan Studios to discover that the Facebook post was a scam, mimicking details from a genuine event called Merry Makers Market scheduled at the same venue and time.
Daniel Rumbolt, the executive director of Quidi Vidi Village Artisan Studio, highlighted that while previous instances of scammers misappropriating their name or events had occurred, this particular case was on a larger scale.
“We found about half a dozen in different Facebook groups. Some groups had multiple posts in a row,” he disclosed, emphasizing the distinct but stolen imagery from posters designed by their team.
Despite the setback, the organizers of the legitimate Merry Makers Market extended an invitation to Fimbres after learning of her predicament.
Expressing her frustration, Fimbres shared, “[It’s] super frustrating because you have the best intentions, like obviously, to promote your business, be there, make [a] presence. When these types of situations happen it’s like … what a bummer.”
In response to these incidents, the