Phone and text scams
Stop phone and text scams that use your event’s name
A friendly call from “the housing team”, a text about an unpaid balance. Phone scams feel personal and urgent, and leave no email to forward. SummitShield lets your exhibitors check the number and report the call, so you can warn everyone.
How the scam works
It usually goes like this
“Rooms are nearly gone”
A confident voice, your event’s name, a deadline.
Decide now
Pay by card on the phone, or lose the offer.
A text with a link
To a page that looks like yours.
Nobody tells you
Until the rooms don’t exist.
Red flags to look out for
If you see any of these, stop and check before you pay or reply.
- They called you, not the other way round
- A number that isn’t on the event website
- Payment by card on the phone, or by bank transfer
- Pressure to decide on the call
- A text with a link to a booking page
What to tell your exhibitors
Five habits that stop these scams. Copy them into your next newsletter.
- 1Never pay a new bank account without checking it with us first
- 2Check any email, website or number on our check page
- 3Look for the stamp on our invoices, and click it
- 4Forward anything that feels wrong to our check address
- 5Only use the suppliers listed as official
How SummitShield helps
Protection at every step
Phone and text scam reports
Exhibitors check the number and report the call in a minute.
How it worksCheck page and check address
Your official numbers and suppliers, shown in one place.
How it worksScam alerts across events
Numbers confirmed as scams at other events are flagged.
How it worksFake website watch
The booking page the text links to is found and reported.
How it worksEmail stamps
Follow-up emails from you carry a stamp, so the fakes stand out.
How it worksTrack down and report
Report the scammer’s website and email account to the companies behind them.
How it worksLive example
See how an event shows its official suppliers and known scams
Try the official directory and scam check for a made-up event. Paste one of its scam addresses and see the instant answer, browse its official suppliers, and see the scams already reported.
Questions people ask
How do I protect exhibitors from scam calls?
List your official phone numbers and suppliers on your SummitShield check page, and tell exhibitors to check any number before they pay. Scam calls they report reach you straight away.
What should an exhibitor do during a suspicious call?
Hang up politely, check the number on the event’s check page, and only call back on a number the event lists as official.
Other scams we help stop
The scams that follow events around
Event email scams
Protect your exhibitors and attendees from event email scams: fake invoices, hotel offers, attendee list sales and “official” partner emails.
Read moreHotel and room scams
Room poachers and fake housing bureaux target exhibitors and attendees with cheap hotel offers.
Read moreAttendee list scams
Exhibitors get offered “your event’s attendee list” for sale.
Read moreFake event websites
Fake event websites sell tickets, stands and rooms in your name.
Read moreInvoice and payment scams
Fake stand invoices and “new bank details” emails cost exhibitors thousands.
Read moreThe 8 most common event scams
A plain guide to how each one works, the signs to look for and how to stop it.
Read the guideFree for event organisers
Protect your event today. It’s free.
Set up in an afternoon. Your exhibitors and attendees get a place to check what’s really you, and you get an early warning when someone uses your name.