Fake passes and access offers in Davos: how to spot them
Nobody can sell you entry to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. Participation is by invitation only, and the Forum warns that messages asking for payment to take part are fraudulent. Hotel badges are issued only by the Kantonspolizei Graubünden (the cantonal police), are collected in person with a passport, and do not admit you to the Congress Centre. Treat any paid offer that promises more than that as a likely scam.
Three different bodies decide on access
What | Who decides | How you receive it |
Participation in the Annual Meeting | The World Economic Forum, by invitation | Through the Forum's own registration |
Hotel badge for a secured hotel | Kantonspolizei Graubünden | In person in Davos, with the registered passport |
Entry to a house or side event | The host | Through the host's own RSVP page, often with manual approval |
A hotel badge gives access to the hotels inside the restricted zones. It is not a conference pass. The official police fee is CHF 105, and secured hotels and event organisers add their own fees on top. Badge rules for 2027 are not yet published; the details here are from the 2026 order by the Kantonspolizei Graubünden, and we will update this page when the 2027 order is out. More on badges: security zones and hotel badges.
Fake passes were sold in January 2026
During the 2026 meeting, USA House, a privately run venue on the Promenade, warned on its website that fake VIP passes were being sold. Skift reported on 22 January 2026 that the packages promised entry to the house's programme and access to senior US officials. The organisers said they did not work with any external resellers and that buyers would be refused entry.
Semafor reported on 19 January 2026 that off-label or fake badges were changing hands for more than CHF 1,000. The same report described nearly 200 people who had registered and paid for hotel badges for an event and were left waiting for hours, after a dispute between two event organisers over who should receive access. Paying an intermediary for a badge application did not guarantee a badge.
Eight warning signs
Paid "Davos access" to the Congress Centre or the conference. Participation is by invitation, not for sale.
A badge delivered by courier or e-mail. Hotel badges are collected in person in Davos, with the passport that was registered.
A guaranteed badge. The police check every application and decide. Nobody else can promise the outcome.
Passes for a house sold by a third party. Houses admit guests through their own registration, not through resellers.
Messages that look like they come from the Forum but use another domain. The Forum's fraud alert says its e-mails come only from addresses ending in weforum.org, e.weforum.org and email.weforum.org, and lists lookalikes such as Gmail accounts or weforum-jobs.org.
Advance payment to someone you cannot verify. The Forum describes these schemes as advance-fee fraud, often paid through Western Union or MoneyGram, and says it does not use either service to receive payments.
Pressure to pay today, with no details. Badge deadlines are real. A genuine provider can name the secured hotel that files your application.
Event pages or web addresses that borrow the Forum's name. Some independent and paid events use it in their URLs. A name in a link proves nothing.
How to check an offer before you pay
Ask which secured hotel files the badge application, what the police fee is and what the other fees are, and where you collect the badge. For a house or side event, find the host's own page and register there. Forward anything that claims to come from the Forum to itsecurity@weforum.org, the address its fraud alert gives for checks, rather than replying to the sender. For questions about the security zones, the police run a hotline before and during the meeting (in 2026, from 5 to 23 January) and publish the number on the Kantonspolizei Graubünden FAQ page.
If you have already paid, contact your bank straight away and report it to the police.
What we do, and what we do not do
We file hotel badge applications for our guests through a secured hotel. We quote the police fee and every other fee in full before you commit. The police decide on each application, and you collect your badge in Davos in person with your registered passport. We cannot guarantee a badge. We never sell, arrange or guarantee access to the Congress Centre, the Annual Meeting or any house's programme. See hotel access.
Questions
Can I buy a pass to the World Economic Forum in Davos?
No. Participation in the Annual Meeting is by invitation only. Offers to sell participation are fraudulent.
Does a hotel badge get me into the Congress Centre?
No. A hotel badge gives access to the secured hotels inside the restricted zones, not to the conference.
Who issues hotel badges in Davos?
The Kantonspolizei Graubünden. Badges are collected in person in Davos, with the passport used for the application.
Were fake passes sold in Davos in 2026?
Yes. In January 2026 USA House warned that fake VIP passes were being sold and said it would refuse entry to buyers. Semafor reported fake badges changing hands for more than CHF 1,000.
Sources
Davos Villas & Apartments is an independent services provider and is not affiliated with the World Economic Forum.
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