While President Barack Obama flew back to Chicago over the weekend to prepare for his farewell speech, thousands also lined up to score tickets to the supposedly free-of-charge event on Tuesday at the McCormick Place.
On Saturday morning, people lined up for first-come, first-serve distribution of tickets. However, ABC News reported that, as early as 7 a.m., Chicago authorities already warned residents who have just arrived that it is no longer advisable for them to line up, given the likelihood that all tickets will be raked in by others.
The following day, numerous online advertisements had popped up with dozens of Obama's farewell speech tickets being auctioned for prices that go as high as $5,000 per ticket.
It remains a big question, however, whether such tickets are authentic or not. According to Steve Bernas, the president of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois, online buyers should steer clear from these sellers as they could merely be offering a hoax.
"Stay away from anyone selling these tickets," he warns. "You don't know who these people are. It's different buying a couch on Craigslist. You can see the couch. ... There's no way to verify these tickets."
Bernas also mentioned how posting photos on social media could be unhelpful as well, particularly when scammers can easily grab pictures and make copies of them to be sold as tickets to Obama's farewell speech.
"Someone is always looking to make a profit on a situation, disaster or calamity," he added. "I guarantee someone will be turned away on Tuesday."
Meanwhile, representatives for the McCormick Place as well as the White House have not yet issued a response to such incidents.
Obama's farewell speech is deemed as a continuation of a tradition that was initially created in 1796 when George Washington spoke to the people of the United States for the last during his presidency.
