PPMA Show: don't get scammed

Be Alert. PPMA we will never sell its attendee list or show information.

Be cautious of companies claiming to sell an event attendee lists or show entries. These companies have no association with PPMA Group and are not authorised to use the name or trademark. Under no circumstances do we sell or rent attendee information to any third party suppliers of data so we would strongly advise that you do not engage with any company that claims they have this data.

Fraudulent companies will use a misleading form, which resembles an organiser's Free Catalogue Listing Service, inviting exhibitors to sign and return the form for an entry in an online directory. They say that doing so contracts the purchaser into a three-year, non-retractable agreement - this is a fraudulent activity - DO NOT pay if you are tricked.

Non-payment is then followed by aggressive debt collecting by Premium Recovery. These companies have no connection with PPMA or any of our events, but they deliberately target companies who exhibit across Europe. If you receive a form or any communication from any of the below companies, do not respond, do not pay.

A few examples of known companies that are sending out these fake show guide entry letters and forms are:

• Expo-Guide
• Fair Guide
• International Business Convention Management
• Construct Date Publishers
• INEXORG

Please also note that despite settling out of court and agreeing to stop sending out misleading forms, Fairguide/Construct Data have altered the look and format of their forms (including a new logo) and are continuing to send these to our exhibitors. For more information please visit the Association of Event Organisers - Industry Scam Warning page.

It is important that the entire industry is made aware of activities relating to third-party companies contacting exhibitors for entries into bogus show guides. We are strongly advising all exhibitors to be vigilant against such organisations, who do not represent PPMA Group. We are actively warning all of our exhibitors about such guides and cautions them to carefully read the small print before signing any document.

This article was originally published by PPMA.