It is no surprise that people take advantage of people and steal their money..
But when it's a huge group of people of a community, the problem get's out of hand...

There has been 4 minecraft convention scams this past 6/months!
These are some that I know of:
1. Meeting of the mines (Florida) (50k taken.) Refunded!
2. Meeting of the mines (New York)
3. Mineapalooza (Australia) REFUNDED, YAY!
4. Mine'o'rama (About 100k taken)

How to avoid them.
---------------------------------------------------------
1. If the convention is for charity, make sure to ask them how much they are donating. (If it's not displayed on there.) If they say they don't want to say, you have a scam. (Who wouldn't be proud of how much they donate?)
2. Make sure to go through Mojang and see if they accepted this convention.
3. Don't go to unofficial Minecraft conventions. (Obvious, sorry.)
4. Check all the companies they are hiring people. If the 'Hired' people are the same person... RED FLAG!!!!
5. Make sure that they booked and the companies owning the places have them booked.
6. Pay with credit card. (Easy to refund.)
7. Do not pay with paypal.. VERY HARD TO GET REFUNDS!






Sources:
http://longisland.news12.com/news/meeting-of-the-mines-minecraft-convention-accused-of-scamming-attendees-1.7509614

http://kotaku.com/postponed-minecraft-convention-leaves-some-people-calli-1601836618

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/controversy-sparked-over-minecraft-convention-in-central-florida/25141026


More in-depth information:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRXXQYJ4hLI