Nefarious activity forced the State Department to shut down its digital passport application system Wednesday evening as scammers snatched up nearly all of the available appointments to sell.
The tricksters used Internet bots to book the agency’s available passport appointment openings they intended to sell for a price in online forums or Facebook groups.
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“Passport Appointments Available for Fee,” read a Facebook post. “[Private message] if interested.”
One Facebook user said a scammer requested $4,000 to get a same-day passport appointment for her sister to fly to Egypt to see their dying father. The user was tipped off when the scammer changed their name and profile picture and deleted their message history.
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Another Facebook user said they flew from Atlanta to Detroit for a 9 a.m. appointment that was not real.
The department disconnected its booking platform entirely Wednesday.
Without the website, travelers in need must call a 1-877 hotline to book passport appointments.
“We are making this change to address the problem of third parties booking appointments online using automated programs, or bots, and then selling these appointments to customers with urgent travel needs,” the department said on its website. The change ensures “our very limited appointments go to applicants who need them for urgent travel.”
In a statement, the State Department admitted the phone number was experiencing “technical difficulties” causing hold times up to an hour, reported SFGATE.
The department did not estimate the length of the time the website would be shut down or say when it would return to functioning normally.
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