Creative Imaging Technologies (CIT) received the letter from International Fairs Directory from Uruguay.
Thijs Tuinstra publicised the scam letter on his Facebook page to alert others in the industry. On his status, Tuinstra said: “Today I received a letter from International Fairs Directory from Uruguay requesting to update our company profile for the Paperworld Fair. It says ‘your free listing’ – do not do this! It’s a scam!”
Tuinstra went on to say that “the letter states it’s for free but if you really read the [small] print on the second [page] after you [have signed] they will invoice you (€1,212/$1,304)”. CIT previously received the same letter a few years ago from a company called EXPO GUIDE, which Tuinstra said was the same scam but registered in Malta.
The CEO called for the scams to be stopped, and asked if anyone had connections in Interpol. There were quite a few responses to the status, with one person claiming to have been taken in by the scam previously.
Companies undertaking this scam have been operating for many years and regularly target thousands of businesses worldwide. The Recycler has reported on the similar Expo-Guide scam for the past few years, in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, twice in 2014 – once for the Dubai show and once for the Germany show – and in March 2015, before receiving another in July and September. The Recycler also received a new events scam letter in May earlier this year.