COVID vaccine certificates are more or less required at a lot of public establishments these days, all over the world. But some people might actually be carrying fakes.
Furthermore, legitimate COVID vaccine certificates have been found to be easily faked online (within seconds, even). In a report by 9News Australia, getting a falsified proof of vaccination online is incredibly easy, with a few sites being able to produce one in less than a minute.
You can see how easy it is to find one. There are already relevant Google search terms on the web indicating PDF versionsCOVID vaccine certificates, if you type the relevant keywords:
As you can see, there's a likelihood of black market sites that also sell fake COVID-19 test results, alongside the counterfeit proofs of vaccination.
In Australia, the government is well aware of these scams. As of late, they say that they're trying to improve related security measures in the wake of these fake documents spreading online.
To achieve their goals, Services Australia (the official government body handing out COVID vaccine certificates in the country) is partnering with the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC).
COVID Vaccine Certificates Are A GLOBAL Problem
It's not just Australia that has to deal with these scams as reported by ZDNet.
Black markets are also offering fake copies of EU vaccine passports, as well as CDC certifications.
The information comes from cybersecurity firm Intel 471, who found out that these fake certifications are being bought mostly by unvaccinated travelers wanting to enter countries which require a proof of vaccination.
Furthermore, it's been found that anti-vaccine propaganda comes alongside the sale of these fake COVID vaccine certificates. The documents even feature QR codes, which are designed to verify a person's vaccination status.
Faking COVID-19 Vaccination Status Is ILLEGAL
For those who want to try these counterfeit documents out, don't even bother, because you can be criminally charged.
This was what a woman from New Jersey learned the hard way. Calling herself "AntiVaxMomma" on Instagram, the woman allegedly sold a few hundred fake COVID-19 vaccine cards to people in the New York area, reports NPR.org.
Each card cost $200 a pop. And for $50 more, another scammer working in tandem would then enter the buyer's name into a vaccination database.
When the two women (Jasmine Clifford and Nadayza Varkley) were arrested, they had already sold 250 cards in the past few months and secretly entered 10 names in the NY state vaccination database.
A Booming Business
The increasing prevalence of strict COVID-19 vaccination mandates are what's fueling the increase in the sales of fake vaccination cards, according to VOANews.
Business is booming for these counterfeiters as well. This is evident when a total of 2,034 fake Pfizer vaccination stickers, as well as 1,683 fake COVID vaccine cards, were intercepted by the US Customs office in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The shipments, which came from China, are scheduled to be delivered to private addresses in New York, Texas, Maryland, Illinois, and Missouri.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by RJ Pierce
