Almost every Gig Heaven interaction is genuine. But like any marketplace, we see the occasional scam attempt. This article walks through the common patterns so you can recognise one and avoid losing money or time.
The most common scam. Someone asks you to pay by direct bank transfer, gift card, or a payment link outside Gig Heaven, before any contract is in place. Every legitimate booking on Gig Heaven starts with a deposit paid through our site. Requests to pay elsewhere, at the enquiry stage, are almost always scams.
"I need to pay the deposit today or I lose the date." "The other supplier just dropped out, can you commit in the next hour?" Time pressure is a tactic to stop you thinking. Legitimate bookings rarely need an answer inside an hour.
Customer enquiries for lavish events at top-of-market budgets, with no haggling. Supplier quotes that are a fraction of everyone else. Both are often fronts for something else (an upfront-fee scam, or a setup where the customer never turns up to the event).
"Hi, I would like to book your act for my event. What is your email?" with no event details, no date, no context. Legitimate customers say what, when, and where.
Asking for your phone, email, home address, or bank details at the enquiry stage (before a contract is in place) is a flag. Direct contact details are shared automatically once a deposit is paid. See Sharing personal contact details, what's safe.
Links that ask you to "sign in" on an external site. Emails that look like they're from Gig Heaven but come from a slightly wrong address. Screenshots of fake payment confirmations. These are always worth stopping and checking on, if in doubt, open My Account directly in a new tab rather than clicking a link.
A customer "accidentally" pays more than the agreed amount and asks you to refund the difference by bank transfer. The original payment later reverses and the supplier loses the refunded amount. We don't do overpayments on Gig Heaven, so any pattern like this is a red flag.
Several things happen behind the scenes to catch scams early:
Related: How to stay safe on Gig Heaven and Why we ask you to keep communication on Gig Heaven.
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