This week I was one of the subjects of a new type of fraud: selling tickets to fake events. My name and picture, together with those of other speakers, were used to promote a fake event called “We love JS.” in Amsterdam, in August 2024. Now, if you know me, you would probably not expect me to speak about JavaScript, foremost because I cannot claim to know anything about it.

I want to make clear I have never heard of this event, will not be speaking at it and they are using my name and picture without permission. Most likely to get you to buy a ticket to a non-existing event.

For me, it was a new experience to be notified about something like this happening using my picture and name. I find it unsettling to see how easy it has become to be abused to this way, but am happy that I have not heard of any harm coming from it and I hope it stays that way. I don’t know what else to say at this point, so maybe I update this post later to share more.

If you are ever wondering if I am really speaking at an event, I try to keep my list of speaking engagements up to date as much as possible. When in doubt, leave me a message on LinkedIn or a comment on the site.

I don’t know if there is also a legitimate event with this name, and if there is, I’m very sorry that they were the subject of this fraud as well.