x
Breaking News
More () »

Alleged scammer tries to sell tickets for free Halloween event in Imperial Beach

The alleged scam came to light when someone called the organizers asking what the supposed $25 ticket would get them.

IMPERIAL BEACH, Calif. — An alleged scammer tried to sell tickets to this weekend’s fourth annual Imperial Beach Chills and Thrills which is a free family event hosted by the San Diego Small Business Forum. 

“It’s hurtful because we work very hard to give back to the community,” said Edel Vernazza who works with the organization putting on the event.   

News 8’s Abbie Alford has previously volunteered to judge the children's costume contest and plans to again this weekend. She describes the festivities as a family fun event with pumpkin carving, raffles, vendor booths and more.  

The alleged scam came to light when someone called the organizers asking what the supposed $25 ticket would get them. The caller directed them to their event page and right above a flier where it says “free” there was a post by an alleged scammer that said "I've got extra tickets for sale. I won't be able to attend the event. DM if you are interested."  

"I pretended I was going to purchase a ticket,” said Vernazza who says she wants to get to the bottom of it.  

News 8 is not sharing the Facebook account since our investigating shows this is a possible impersonation account and a case of identity theft. Vernazza strung the person along about tickets. The alleged scammer wanted money sent to her son's cash app.  

"I said, ‘how do I know the tickets are good?’ She said, 'oh, hahah. You don’t have anything to worry about. Believe me.’” 

That's when Vernazza called out the scammer.  

"[I said,] ‘this is a free event. This is open to the public. How dare you try to sell something that is not a cost to anyone.’ She blocked me,” Vernazza said.  

Another event planner commented on the post saying the same account tried to scam her events. 

A Facebook spokesperson says after News 8 flagged the user the possible impersonation account was disabled. They offered the following statement on these types of scams:  

“We’ve invested heavily in strengthening our technology to keep scammers off Facebook and remove these accounts when we discover them. We encourage people to report suspicious messages and activity to us right away so we can take action.” 

Facebook also offered the following tips on how users can spot a potential scam: 

  • People asking you for money who you don’t know in person 
  • People asking you to send them money or gift cards to receive a loan, prize or other winnings 
  • Anyone asking you to pay a fee in order to apply for a job 
  • Pages representing large companies, organizations or public figures that are not verified 
  • People asking you to move your conversation off Facebook to a less public or less secure setting, such as a separate email 
  • People claiming to be a friend or relative in an emergency 
  • People who misrepresent where they are located. If someone signs up for Messenger using their mobile phone number, you may be able to check which country their phone number is from. If you're concerned that a Page may be scamming you, you can check the Page's location 
  • Messages or posts with poor spelling and grammatical mistakes 
  • People or accounts directing you to a Page to claim a prize  

 

 

Before You Leave, Check This Out