Jerry Villasenor, owner of Tiki's Shaved Ice & Ice Cream, says he came within a bank alert of losing money to scammers who built a fake website impersonating San Diego's beloved December Nights festival. He paid an invoice through Zelle for what he thought was a legitimate vendor spot, only for his bank to flag the transaction as potential fraud before it went through.
According to NBC 7 San Diego, scammers posed as December Nights event planners and built a copycat site that even included the festival's correct logo, closely mirroring the city's official page. Villasenor only grew suspicious after he called the city directly and couldn't reach anyone who actually handled the event — a dead end that prompted him to dig further before any money changed hands.
City Says the Scam Has Nothing to Do With Its Real Process
The City of San Diego responded that the fraudulent account bore no connection to the city, its contractor, or the official vendor application process. The city's statement, reported by the same outlet, was blunt: at no point does the city or its contractor request payment through Zelle, personal money transfers, or any other peer-to-peer platform for December Nights vendor fees.
Instead, the city said, anyone hoping to sell food or wares at December Nights must submit an official interest application through the verified portal at DecemberNights.org. Per the city's own December Nights page, vendors who are selected to move forward receive a formal application link by email, while those not initially chosen may be placed on a waitlist for future consideration.
A Familiar Scam Playbook
The tactic Villasenor encountered fits a pattern the Federal Trade Commission has warned about for ordinary consumers and small businesses alike: a message that looks like it's from a business you know, pushing you to click a link or complete a payment before you think twice. The agency has also urged business owners to warn customers quickly if they learn scammers are impersonating their brand, since copycat sites can spread fast once they're built.
The Scam Lands Amid Budget Uncertainty for the Festival Itself
The attempted fraud comes as December Nights' own future is in question. A proposed city budget plan, previously reported by Hoodline, could substantially downsize or cancel the two-day festival, which typically draws an estimated 300,000 people to Balboa Park each year. Removing the event from the calendar would save the city roughly $1.5 million and eliminate the lone city position dedicated to planning and executing it, as San Diego works to close a projected budget gap of roughly $146 million.
For vendors like Villasenor, the uncertainty around whether December Nights will even happen as planned may be part of what makes a slick fake website so convincing — small business owners eager not to miss out on a signature local event can be an easy target. Whether the festival proceeds, shrinks, or disappears from the 2026 calendar remains unresolved, but the city's message to vendors in the meantime is clear: go through DecemberNights.org, and never send payment through Zelle or similar apps for a vendor spot.
