Ads are popping up online offering to sell passes to the popular National Museum of African American History and Culture, despite admission to the museum being free.
The timed passes are available for free online — and some weekday walk-up passes are available, too — but ads on Craigslist are offering passes for specific dates and times, like Father’s Day, for $15.
"We go through the pain of doing all these things and people trying to sell the tickets on Craigslist for profit is horrible,” said Buddy Brown, who is visiting from San Diego.
A call to a number of someone claiming to be an authorized seller went to an answering service.
"I think I would've known right away that there was a scam because everyone knows that these museums are free," said Steve Staal of Kenya.
While the passes can be hard to come by, the musuem said you should never pay for them.
The museum said sometimes the passes are part of tour packages that are paid for, but the passes are always free.
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"The website tells you the instructions,” said Stephanie Britton of Texas. “They provide all the details that you need, so there would be absolutely no reason to go to Craigslist for that."
