If you run an event business, a new inquiry is a good feeling. It might be a wedding, a milestone birthday, or a company party. It might be next month's rent.
That's exactly why a fake check scam works. Vendors across the industry, from photographers and florists to DJs, caterers and decorators, report receiving inquiries that follow the same pattern. Here's a quick guide to that pattern, so you can answer real clients with confidence and let the fake ones go.
What the pattern looks like
It usually starts warm and a little vague: "Hi! My husband and I are planning our wedding and we love your work. Can we set up a Zoom meeting to discuss? Please send your email."
On its own, that's a perfectly normal message. Real couples write things like it every day. What gives a fake inquiry away is everything around it: missing details, a rush to move the conversation somewhere else, and eventually a payment that doesn't add up.
The red flags
One flag on its own isn't proof. Several together usually are.
1. A templated wedding inquiry
"My husband and I," lots of praise for your work, and very few details. No date, no venue, no guest count, and no mention of which of your work they loved.
2. A push to move off platform
An early request to switch to personal email, text or a messaging app, often framed as "please send your email." Once you leave the place where the inquiry started, there's no shared record of the conversation or the booking.
3. A rush to a video call on their terms
A Zoom or video call before you even know the date. Watch for a "client" who insists on sending their own meeting link, ignores yours, or asks you to download or update something to join. A real client is happy to join a call you host.
4. More money than you asked for
This is the heart of a fake check scam. The "client" agrees to your price right away, then sends a check or payment for more than the amount you quoted. There's always a story: the extra is for a planner, a decorator, or a vendor who "doesn't take cards." Then comes the ask: please send the difference on to them.
A check can look like it has cleared before it has truly been verified. If it turns out to be fake, the money you forwarded is gone.
5. Payment links and unusual payment methods
A link to "receive" your payment, a request to move money by gift card, wire or crypto, or a page that asks for your bank login. Getting paid should never require you to send money or share credentials.
6. Urgency
"We need to lock this in today." "Can you confirm before the weekend?" Pressure to skip your normal process (contract, deposit, details) is one of the most reliable signs that something is off.
What to do if you get one
You don't have to stop taking video calls or ignore new leads. You just have to stay in control.
- Slow down. A real client will wait for your normal process. Ask for the date, venue and guest count before anything else.
- Host the call yourself. Send the invite from your own account, and never install software from a meeting link.
- Never send money back. There's no good reason for someone paying you to ask you to forward part of it to someone else. If extra money arrives, talk to your bank before you touch it.
- Don't click payment links you didn't expect. Get paid through a method you already use and trust.
- Keep the conversation where it started. If an inquiry came in through a platform, keep messaging and payment there.
- Tell your community. A heads-up in your local vendor group helps others spot it too.
Why Backdrop exists
Fake check scams work because of how the events industry has always run. Inquiries come in through DMs, deals are done over text, and money moves through whatever app is handy. That informality is also the gap scammers rely on.
We built Backdrop so booking and payment happen in one place, with clear rules for both sides:
Payment is secured upfront on Backdrop. No checks, no cash, no Zelle or Venmo. The remaining payment is held until the event is complete.
That means there's no check to deposit and no "difference" to send back. The conversation and the booking stay together, so you can focus on the work you love.
Related: You'd Never Book an Airbnb Without Protection — So Why Do It for Events?
The simplest rule of thumb we can offer: if an inquiry starts on a platform, keep it there until the job is done.
Your work only happens once per event. You deserve to get paid for it with peace of mind.
– Backdrop Team
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