MADISON, Wis. – Hundreds of thousands of football fans are expected to attend the 2025 Draft in Green Bay from April 24 to April 26. With that many visitors in town, scammers may try to take advantage of the fast-paced environment by targeting them with a variety of fraudulent transportation schemes.
After visitors arrive in Green Bay, they will navigate through town in buses, shuttles, rideshares, or their own vehicles. With a variety of options available, scammers may use this as an opportunity to sell fake transit tickets, reservations, and passes. To avoid scams, visitors should know where to go for information related to parking and transportation services. By visiting GreenBay.com/Draft25 or downloading the NFL OnePass app, users will find the latest updates and details such as:
- Green Bay Metro will operate a free bus route from Downtown Green Bay to the Draft event grounds.
- The Brown County Tavern League will provide free shuttles from participating bars, restaurants, and other member establishments directly to visitors’ rented lodging.
- There will be dedicated pick-up and drop-off locations for rideshare services like Uber, Lyft, and others.
- Traditional taxi services will also be available during the 2025 Draft.
Most attendees are expected to drive to Green Bay for the 2025 Draft, and these drivers are vulnerable to additional scams. Many consumers are familiar with automated parking meters. Some take coins or credit cards, but others require the user to pay online. These meters will often have a nearby pay station or display a QR code to make the payment process as smooth as possible. While QR codes are useful tools that can be scanned with smartphones and other devices to quickly open apps and website links, they are also vulnerable to tampering.
The problem: Scammers can place fraudulent QR code stickers, sometimes over valid QR codes, to mislead consumers. The scammer’s QR code opens what appears to be a normal payment portal, but if a consumer uses it, they will send their money and payment information to a scammer while their vehicle remains illegally parked.
The solution: Consumers using a QR code should examine it closely to check for possible tampering. After scanning, they should double check the web address and whether the payment portal matches the parking company’s branding.
However, much of the available parking during the Draft will belong to private Green Bay residents who rent out space in front of their homes or businesses for visitors’ vehicles.
The problem: Scammers may solicit and accept consumers’ money for parking spots they do not have a right to sell. To make their scheme more believable, scammers may dress as parking attendants and provide fake receipts after the consumer’s payment is processed.
The solution: Consumers should research parking areas in advance and have several options in mind, including backups if their top choices are unavailable. If possible, they should pay with a credit card to take advantage of built-in fraud protections but have cash available if needed. Refer to GreenBay.com/Draft25 or the NFL OnePass app to review parking options.
And it doesn’t stop there. Consumers may encounter a scam even after parking legally in a legitimate spot, potentially days, weeks or even months after the Draft.
The problem: Scammers use fake parking tickets to trick consumers into handing over their money. These tickets may be left on a vehicle with instructions to pay, or texted/emailed to a consumer later. Paying a fake ticket will cost a consumer money and expose their personal information, creating a risk of identity theft.
The solution: Never open links or make payments in response to unsolicited messages. If a consumer believes a charge may be real, they should contact the local law enforcement agency directly using non-emergency contact information that can be independently verified – not with details provided in the unsolicited message.
A recent variation of this scam threatened Wisconsin consumers with unpaid tolls instead of parking tickets. While Wisconsin does not have any toll roads, neighboring states do. If consumers believe an unpaid toll message may be real, they should visit the tolling agency’s official website to learn more.
Learn more about parking, bus, shuttle, and rideshare services for the 2025 Draft in Green Bay at GreenBay.com/Draft25or by downloading the NFL OnePass app. For more information and consumer protection resources or to file a complaint, visit DATCP’s Consumer Protection webpage at ConsumerProtection.wi.gov or contact the Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 422-7128 or DATCPHotline@wisconsin.gov.
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