Even billionaires are not immune to petty scams. Multiple wealthy attendees of this year’s World Economic Forum apparently bought fake VIP tickets to an event featuring US President Donald Trump, also scheduled to be in Davos for the annual event on Wednesday.
“Caveat Billionaires, It has been brought to our attention that again this year external parties are selling ‘VIP access to USA House’ and other Stromback Global venues in Davos,” the USA House posted on its website under the heading “Fraudulent VIP Passes.”
Inside the fake Davos VIP ticket scam
Located just outside the security zone by the entrance to the main Promenade in Davos, the USA House is a historic church that is traditionally used by the US delegation to host numerous events during the World Economic Forum, now in its 56th year.
Produced by Stromback, one of those exclusive events being held at the USA House, a strictly privately sponsored organization, is a livestream of President Trump’s speech at the WEF, set to take place on Wednesday afternoon.
The USA House, which is set up to celebrate “250 Years of Freedom and Innovation” in 2026 for America in Davos, also operates "a small number of marquee venues along the Promenade, including penthouses and historic locations inside and adjacent to the security zone," according to its website.
The Stromback venues are said to be chosen for their “suitability for senior-level conversations in a discreet and secure setting,” the USA House notes, and it also appears this is not the first year uber-wealthy attendees have fallen victim to the fake VIP pass scam.
Davos attracts elite targets
With 3,000 cross-sector leaders from over 130 countries, the crowds will also include “nearly 850 of the world’s top CEOs and chairpersons, and almost 100 leading unicorns and technology pioneers,” Børge Brende, President and CEO, World Economic Forum, boasts of this year's attendees.
Although it is unknown how many scam tickets were sold in the lead-up to the WEF and how much they actually cost, USA House claims the “volume of inbound queries this year suggests that these fake VIP passes may be the fastest-selling fiction about Davos since Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain.”
(Those unfamiliar with the 1924 Nobel Prized fiction by German author Thomas Mann, essentially, “It's just about a kid stuck in a hospital with bizarre characters and surrounded by nothing but snow, and it is a fantastic read about people trying to make something out of nothing,” as one Redditor perfectly described it.)
Offering “sympathies to those who fell victim to these scams,” the USA House also clearly let those who were swindled know, “We will not be giving access to people who purchased such packages.”
A who’s who of leaders from government, business, and civil society descend on the small Swiss Alpine town during the annual WEF event to “gain insight into a fast-shifting global landscape, and advance solutions to today’s and tomorrow’s biggest and most pressing challenges,” the WEF President said.
The Forum, which kicked off on Monday, January 19th, runs through Friday, January 23rd.
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