Consumer protection agency warns of possible ticket and vaccination card scams at Lollapalooza

With the return of Lollapalooza this year, fake COVID-19 vaccination cards are becoming as big of a concern as fake tickets for the music festival.

With Lollapalooza requiring full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test to attend, the Better Business Bureau says that it has created a breeding ground for fraudulent vaccine cards. The consumer protection nonprofit claim some are willing to buy the card instead of getting a free vaccination to attend, putting the 100,000 people that attend per day at risk of catching the virus as well as losing money.

Steve Bernas, president and CEO of Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois, said scammers always use the excitement of events like playoffs and concerts to snare unsuspecting victims. Last year, Bernas reported that 300 people filed reports to the BBB Scam Tracker about ticket scams related to sporting events, concerts and theater.

"Just like finding tickets, there are countless ways for consumers to find vaccinations cards online, with online marketplaces, ticket sellers, resellers and the like, and unfortunately, some of them are rip-offs," Bernas said. "This scam is especially dangerous because fake tests and vaccine cards not only put people at a health risk, but buying and selling illegal cards is a crime."

Organizers encourage people to bring their physical vaccination cards or negative COVID test results, not screenshots on their phones, to speed the screening and entry process.

The bureau says consumers should be smart about where they purchase their tickets and make sure they're buying from trustworthy sources.

BBB urges people to report scam attempts to the BBB Scamtracker at BBB.org/scamtracker.