For some reason, people like walking around with their pictures on big, laminated cards swinging from shoelaces around their necks. At first blush, you could mistake them for the athletes. But without the bar codes and the knife and fork icons for the dining hall, they're not getting anywhere near the Athletes' Village. They're probably among the 50,000-odd volunteers or team support staff. Maybe they're athletes' parents who have registered through the homestay program.
People also do bad things with accreditation cards.
Or they tuck the cards under their shirts and bolt for the gates in the hopes that the shoelaces look official enough. I haven't heard what kind of accreditation the prostitutes were using when they were caught soliciting athletes in the exclusive gated community. As a rowing spare, I'm not accredited. The decision comes from a deal the International Olympic Committee made with rowing's governing body to limit the number of participating athletes. The canoe-kayak spares get accreditation.