The event impact fraud

Sail Amsterdam has just closed after 5 days of hosting over 10,000 ships and 2.5 million visitors in the city centre. Large scale urban events such as these have many positive impacts, as the Sail website highlights:

Sail …“connects, fraternizes, and brings us closer together. In a world that sometimes turns inwards, Amsterdam opens its port to ships and crews from all over the world. The sea does not divide, it unites!”

Sail 2025 fills the centre of Amsterdam

But mega events can have negative impacts on their surroundings too – increased noise, litter, parking problems, etc. So wouldn’t it be nice if event organisers compensated the locals for the inconvenience?

Some people in the centre of Amsterdam must have been pleasantly surprised to find a letter purporting to offer compensation for the effects of major summer events such as Sail, the  Pride Canal Parade and the Prinsengracht Concert. This apparently consisted of a ‘super luxury delicatessen hamper’ worth almost €220, including a bottle of champagne, caviar and lobster bisque. All you had to do to claim this bounty was to pay €25 via a QR code and the hamper would be delivered to your door.

This was of course a scam, as the local Police quickly pointed out.  We have no idea how many people fell for this scam, but according to the letter that was circulated, hundreds of people received the invitation.

We are used to ticket fraud at major events, but this seems to be a new departure, which plays on the increased debate about the impact of events in cities. With more and more residents seeming to resist the growing eventification of city centres, there may be more potential victims for the fraudsters too.