The founder of What’s Grubbin' Salinas, the group that hosts vibrant local events centered around food trucks, music, arts and small businesses claims a fake account is impersonating the popular organization.
Orlando Osornio, the founder of What's Grubbin' Salinas, says the fake account is requesting deposits under the email [email protected].
“If you're not getting correspondents from [email protected] please do not give out any of your personal information,” said Osornio on the Instagram video. “Do not pay any deposits or any fees. We have not started to send out that information just yet.”
Emails under the impersonated account have been circulating, according to Osornio.
“Scam emails are becoming more convincing every day. If something feels off, don’t click any links or open attachments," Salinas Police Public Safety Information Officer Rosemerry Dere says. “Take a moment to verify the sender through a trusted source, and if you’re unsure, delete the email or report it as spam. A few extra seconds can save you from becoming a victim.”
The email states, “We are seeking craft vendors, home decor vendors, food trucks and food vendors of different categories to participate in the event. The fee for a commercial booth space is $150 for non-food vendors and $250 for food vendors, with an additional $50 electricity fee.”
This relates to the Cars, Crafts & California Brews Festival at the Salinas Sports Complex on Aug. 30 from 10am-5pm.
“We were a little bit shocked when we started receiving phone calls from vendors that we have had participate in our events in the past that were sending us messages saying they received an email of somebody that was requesting for them to send in information and also asking for a certain amount of money,” the founder of What’s Grubbin' says.
Osornio shared he has not sent a police report on the incident yet.
“We haven't even built the event out just yet,” Osornio says. “We don't know how many people this may affect or if somebody's going to be giving out their information and what these people are going to do with it, so obviously it's very concerning for us.”