Nova Scotia craft vendors targeted by email scam ahead of Christmas market season

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeAtlantic CanadaNewsNova ScotiaHalifax Nova Scotia craft vendors targeted by email scam ahead of Christmas market season 'These are local artists and, like a lot of local artists, don't have a ton of money,' said Craft Nova Scotia executive director Tori Fleming Author of the article: By George Myrer Published Sep 16, 2026 4 minute read Glass-based artist Phillip Doucette creates a glass shell in the studio of his Halifax home on Wednesday. Doucette is warning the craft community of spam emails that have targeted vendors for upcoming craft shows. PHOTO BY TIM KROCHAK Article content Phillip Doucette jokes that his cynicism and paranoia run quite high. Article content That is a good thing for Doucette, who was one of many craft vendors targeted by a scam email from an entity masquerading as a reputable craft show organization. Article content Article content At first glance, the email appeared authentic for a popular show run by Craft Nova Scotia. Article content “We are pleased to invite you to apply as an exhibitor for the Craft Nova Scotia Designer Craft Show 2026, taking place November 13–15, 2026, at Pavilion 22, Halifax Seaport, Halifax, Nova Scotia,” read the email. Article content Article content Doucette, who operates a glass-blowing studio in Halifax, said he is familiar with the application process for craft shows and realized the email didn’t fit the typical model. Article content “The way the market works is every year you actually have to apply to be in the market and I had not applied at that point, so I shouldn’t have been receiving any communication about the market,” said Doucette. Article content “And then, boom. Suddenly, this appeared in my email, and it was asking for $300 or something like that to reserve my space.” Article content A Christmas craft fair held in November 2024 at Centre 200 in Sydney. Crafters in Nova Scotia have had to deal with a recent email scam focusing on artisans reserving a spot at a fake Christmas craft fair in Halifax. PHOTO BY IAN NATHANSON /Postmedia Article content Tori Fleming, executive director of Craft Nova Scotia, said the organization was alerted to the scam by members. Article content “I think that likely whoever is making them is using AI to scrape our website,” said Fleming. “Right now, they’re really targeting our designer craft show, which is coming up in…