Popular Toronto holiday market warns vendors about new wave of scams

Small businesses hoping to secure a coveted spot at Ontario's holiday markets are being warned about a growing scam, as fraudsters impersonate popular events like Distillery Winter Village and ask vendors to pay for fake applications.

The Distillery Historic District in Toronto says it's once again dealing with scammers posing as organizers of its annual Distillery Winter Village, an attraction that brings together hundreds of vendors and marks the start of the holiday season. But this year, the fraud has expanded beyond fake websites.

"Last year we found out that there were people pretending to be the Distillery Winter Village by starting their own website," Rik Ocvirk of The Distillery Historic District tells blogTO. "When you would click on any of the links, it all went to gambling websites."

But that scam didn't last long. After representatives discovered the fraudulent website, they alerted media, filed a police report, and had the site taken down. 

This year's scam, however, appears to be a little bit more sophisticated.

The latest wave of fraud surfaced when a past vendor alerted the Distillery team to an Eventbrite listing promoting a fake "Distillery Makers Festival." Their investigation even led them to another fraudulent Eventbrite posting for a fake "Distillery Artisan Expo." Both listings were reported to Eventbrite and removed.

This didn't nip the issue in the bud; the scammers simply changed tactics.

"We found out about a month ago that somebody had been contacted by what they presumed was us because the email was distillerywintervillage@gmail.com," Ocvirk says. "In that, they were told that they could apply and pay a certain amount of money to be in the Winter Village."

Two neighbours in the Distillery received an email from info.distillerywintervillage@gmail.com with the subject line, "Invitation to apply."

Screenshot via The Distillery Historic District.

The email included a Google Forms application that closely resembled the legitimate Distillery Winter Village vendor application. One of the recipients forwarded it to another business owner who regularly participates in the holiday market.

They completed the application and later received a confirmation email saying they had been accepted and were instructed to send a $1,500 deposit via Interac e-transfer to wintervillagedistillery@gmail.com.

Screenshot via The Distillery Historic District.

The business owner sent the funds, but was later refunded by their bank once fraudulent activity was identified.

Ocvirk says the scam only came to light after the prospective vendor mentioned their acceptance into the 2026 market to another vendor. "Their friend said, 'Well, how is that happening? They haven't even closed the application process yet.'" From there, the Distillery team began investigating and discovered the problem extended far beyond a single fraudulent email.

The investigation also revealed that similar scams are affecting markets well beyond Toronto.

"It obviously led us down the rabbit hole of finding out that apparently this is happening across the country where all of the festivals, not just Winter Villages or Christmas markets, but small little craft festivals are being taken advantage of," Ocvirk says. "They're literally just reaching out, pretending to be the local craft fair... and then taking that money and obviously disappearing."

For small business owners, the financial hit can be significant.

"These are literally mom and pops... that don't have $1,500 bucks to lose," Ocvirk says.  

In response to the ongoing scam, The Distillery has changed its vendor application process for all of its events. Rather than directing applicants to event organizers, they must now apply through a form directly on the event's official website. This, Ocvirk says, is to "take away the options or opportunities, the tools of these criminals."

The Distillery is also reminding vendors that it does not use Gmail accounts for official communications. Legitimate vendor invitations direct applicants to the application form on its website, not Google Form.

Ocvirk also says vendors should be wary of unsolicited invitations.

"We don't typically reach out to people to be vendors. We put up an application and give an opportunity to reach out to us," he says. "So if anyone's being reached out to directly, it's probably fake. It's a red flag."

The Distillery has notified its tenants and current vendors about the scam and hopes raising awareness will prevent others from losing money. 

"We're trying to protect our reputation and our vendors," Ocvirk says. "At the end of the day, we want to make sure that no one's getting taken advantage of."

Distillery Winter Village isn't the only Ontario market warning others about this issue. The Niagara Butter Tart Festival recently warned vendors about a fraudulent email impersonating the event after organizers shared a screenshot of the fake message on social media.

Screenshot via Ontario Artisans & Vendor Markets.

The festival reminded prospective vendors that applications are submitted exclusively through its website, never by email.

Similarly, the Sudbury Market, a year-round farmers' market, has reported that a fraudster with a Gmail account has been contacting prospective vendors and encouraging them to apply for upcoming markets.

While many holiday markets have already closed their vendor applications for 2026, organizers say it's important for businesses still trying to secure spots at seasonal events to verify they're dealing with legitimate organizers before submitting applications or paying money.

Vendors are encouraged to do their due diligence by confirming they are using an event's official website, avoiding Gmail addresses or unsolicited invitations, and verifying payment requests before sending money to avoid falling victim to a scam.