Lost $60 on a mall scavenger hunt that ended up being a scam

So I was at Granite Run Mall in Pennsylvania last month and saw this flyer for a $20 scavenger hunt where you find hidden tokens for prizes. Paid for three entries for me and my buddies because it sounded fun and dead malls are perfect for stuff like that. Turns out the tokens were never actually hidden by the organizers they just pocketed the cash and dipped. We spent 2 hours searching empty stores and hallways before a security guard told us the guy running it had been banned from two other malls already. Felt like an idiot for not checking online first since there were warnings on local forums. Has anyone else run into popup events at dead malls that turned out to be total rip-offs?

2 comments

2 Comments

anthony98926d ago

Granite Run's been dead for years, perfect hunting ground for scammers.

wren30726d ago

I mean yeah it sucks you lost sixty bucks but is this really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things? You got a couple hours of entertainment running around a dead mall with your buddies which is basically free fun anyway. Plenty of people drop way more than that on actual games at the arcade or bowling alley and don't think twice about it. The security guard warned you off before you wasted the whole day so really you only lost a little time and some cash. Next time just do a quick search on your phone before handing over money and you'll be fine.