- 23-27 OCT 2024
- Manchester, UK
BEWARE OF HOTEL FRAUD, TELEPHONE SCAMMERS AND EXPO GUIDE FRAUD
Hotel Fraud, Accommodation Telephone Scam
Every year unsolicited services with names such as Exhibit Housing Services or Expo Housing, Tradeshow Reservations or similar call up WOMEX delegates to offer accommodation deals, usually claiming or implying to be representatives of WOMEX or official service providers for the event. This is not the case! These are unofficial ‘fishing’ offers by companies with a business model to target participants of trade fairs, conferences and conventions of all sectors worldwide, obtaining their contact data from publicly accessible web sources.
WOMEX / Piranha Arts is in no way affiliated with third-party accommodation management services like these, nor will we ever call delegates to sell hotel rooms or any other services. We never sell any of our customer data to any third party. If you are contacted by any company claiming to represent WOMEX please ignore them, note the details, and let us know (connect@piranha-arts.com).
We advise you NOT to communicate with these agencies and especially NOT to share your credit card, bank or personal details.
WOMEX delegates have reported that they have been aggressively and persistently pursued by these agencies, who are often making pushy allegations that you have to book through them, claiming that hotels are almost booked out or that there is a problem with your existing reservation. They offer accommodation deals that may look good at first sight, but later add dubious surcharges, handling fees or currency conversion fees, or they might not even make an actual hotel reservation for you. Beware!
WOMEX / Piranha Arts is not responsible for any third-party liability incurred by delegates as a result of engaging with services mentioned above. For trusted accommodation recommendations, please consult our website.
International Fairs Directory, Expo/Fair Guide and similar
Various unsolicited services with names such as International Fair Directory, Exposition Guide, Constr, Data Publishers or similar are known to regularly send out misleading mailings to WOMEX delegates, asking them to update their data in some guide list or directory, implying to be affiliated with WOMEX. This is a fraud with high cost to you: the update / entry is not free of charge! These are unofficial ‘fishing’ offers by companies that target participants of trade fairs, conferences and conventions of all sectors worldwide, obtaining their contact data from publicly accessible web sources. WOMEX/Piranha Arts is in no way affiliated with these companies! We never sell any of our customer data to any third party. If you are contacted by any company claiming to represent WOMEX please ignore them, note the details, and let us know (connect@piranha-arts.com).
The only costs for official WOMEX listings and registrations are the ones mentioned and agreed on in the online registration for WOMEX or virtualWOMEX. There are no extra costs for our mentions and listings, as offered, implied or invoiced by these fraudulent companies.
We advise you to read all incoming mailings and forms asking for your data very carefully – especially the small print!
What they do: These companies typically send forms with the name WOMEX at the top, giving it an official look, and often implying through the wording that it is an update of an entry that was made by the delegate/exhibitor previously. It looks as if they are giving you a free inclusion in a directory – They Are Not.
The ‘small print’ at the bottom states that submission of the form really is an advertisement order, for which a yearly fee applies . Sometimes further “rights” such as using your name or logo are granted. The order is subsequently invoiced and payment is aggressively pursued. Beware!
WOMEX / Piranha Arts is not responsible for any third-party liability incurred by delegates as a result of engaging with services mentioned above.
For more information, see:
(These are independent sites and we cannot vouch for their accuracy)