Outlaw3D: 3D Printed Tokens Used to Rip Off Canadian Ribfest Charity for Kids

At a big barbecue festival in British Columbia, Canada, someone used a 3D printer to make fake tokens. The worst part is that the money from those tokens was supposed to help kids’ charities.

This September, the annual Ribfest in Esquimalt’s Bullen Park drew thousands of visitors. For three days, barbecue teams from across Canada competed while families enjoyed food, music, and community spirit. The event is not just about good ribs; it’s also about raising money. Each year, the Esquimalt Ribfest Society collects donations and sells tokens that can be used to buy food and drinks. The money goes to local children’s charities, including school programs, youth sports, and support for families who need help.

In a typical year, these tokens bring in around $75,000. Since the festival began 12 years ago, it has raised nearly $2 million for charity. That makes the news of what happened this year quite unsettling.

A New Kind of Fraud

Police and festival organizers say someone 3D printed fake tokens that looked very similar to the real ones. These counterfeit tokens were then used at the event to buy food, cutting directly into the money meant for children’s charities.

Organizers later discovered that hundreds of fake tokens had been used, worth more than $2,000. They still don’t know who was behind the scheme. The Esquimalt Ribfest Society described the fraud as “a hiccup” in what was otherwise their best year ever.

The group has now offered a $500 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible.

“We are sure that with the number of tokens redeemed, there are numerous people out there who know where they came from and whose printer [was used],” the society wrote in a post on social media.

More than 300 volunteers worked long hours to make Ribfest happen, and the community was very generous. At the entrance alone, visitors donated $93,000 this year, money that was collected by the Esquimalt Firefighters Charitable Foundation.

Tom Woods, chair of the Ribfest Society, said he was proud of the turnout and the donations. “You don’t have to pay to get into Ribfest, but if you want to make a donation if you enjoy yourself, you can.”

This year, Ribfest saw more than 40,000 people a day pass through the gates. In addition to gate donations, the festival also received about $100,000 from sales and vendor fees.  That generosity makes it even sadder, since some of the funds meant to help kids were taken away. After Woods posted about the fraud online, the post went viral, and the community quickly responded, donating nearly $10,000 to cover the $2,000 loss.

Police Investigation

Victoria Police (VicPD) is now investigating. Inspector Conor King of the VicPD’s Esquimalt division called the case “disappointing, particularly given the important role Ribfest plays in our community.” Police are asking anyone who saw suspicious activity to come forward.

In Canada, making and using fake tokens like this is treated as fraud. The law says it’s illegal to trick people for money or goods, even if it’s not official cash. Since the tokens worked like money at Ribfest, using 3D printed copies counts as fraud and could lead to criminal charges.

3D printing has become much more affordable and accessible over the last decade, opening the door to creativity and innovation, but also making it easier to create convincing fakes. We have also been tracking arrests around the world linked to 3D printed guns, which remain one of the most common uses of the technology by criminals. That problem has been growing, with more cases of people printing guns or gun parts, and it has put law enforcement on alert as they work to keep up with this threat.

In this case, someone used a printer to design and manufacture tokens that mimicked the ones sold by Ribfest. Unlike traditional counterfeit money schemes, this wasn’t about large-scale criminal profit. But the impact on a charity event is still serious.

Of course, this may not be considered a “crime crime” on the scale of violent theft or organized fraud. But it’s a clear example of how 3D printing can be abused in new ways; let’s say it’s a warning sign of what could come next.

For years, experts have warned that 3D printers could be used for counterfeiting. We’ve seen cases with fake license plates, vape parts, and weapons. Communities, charities, and businesses need to be aware of how these tools can be misused.