10/29/2026
🚨 SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS: BOOKING SCAM WARNING! 🚨
Villa Farm has now received TWO suspicious booking inquiries involving the same red flag: the customer claims their photographer or other vendor can't accept credit cards and asks us to add the vebdor's fee to our invoice, collect the money, and send the vendor their portion. We did not follow through with the first booking.
After investigating the second inquiry, I found a Facebook warning from another petting zoo in a different state, with at least 10 other vendors confirming they'd received similar inquiries! From the same email address as the second inquiry.
The email addresses and booking details were different, but the payment request was the common thread. One listed a park as the event location; the other listed a residence.
⚠️ PLEASE BE CAREFUL! 🚩 Don't collect and forward money for another vendor. 🚩 Investigate unusual booking requests before sending invoices. 🚩 Trust your gut when something feels off!
Thankfully, I paused before sending that second invoice and did some digging. A few minutes of research may have saved us from a costly mistake.
Small businesses work too hard for our money to risk it on suspicious transactions. Let's look out for each other! ❤️
Have you received a similar inquiry? Share your experience and help spread the word! 📢
— Villa Farm Mobile Petting Zoo
