Last update: July 23rd, 2021.
The legitimacy of vaccine passports is being threatened due to dangerous online scams.
Fake COVID passes are being sold all across the Internet — on leading websites such as eBay and Shopify, on the dark web, and across social media.
COVID passport fraud in the US
“The darknet is booming with activity related to the vaccines,” said Ekram Ahmed, a spokesperson for cybersecurity firm Check Point, in an interview with ABC7 News.
A US vaccine passport, like New York’s Excelsior Pass, is not mandatory. However, “Cybercriminals are looking to capitalize on the public’s interest to both get the vaccine or avoid the vaccine”, Ahmed explained.
Many of us are in a hurry to catch up with life as it was before the coronavirus pandemic. Vaccine passports are a way to safely restart local and international travel and large social gatherings.
However, those seeking a vaccine passport should always make sure to get it from verified providers.
Some clues that a COVID passport might be fake are:
- If the application process requires too much personal information
- If the application process requires no proof of vaccination or testing
- If the price is oddly low or high
- If the source is not a verified vaccine passport provider
“We’ve seen hundreds of websites on the dark web where these documents are being sold… at the price of peanuts,” Beenu Arora, founder of cyber intelligence firm Cyble, told Reuters recently.
Fake COVID certificates in Europe
Globally, many countries have fallen victim to online COVID pass scams.
Governments are preemptively warning citizens about hefty fines or jail time if they get caught buying or selling fake COVID certificates.
Fake green pass in Italy
In early July, soon after the launch of the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC), Italian police announced that they had shut down multiple platforms offering fake vaccine passports.
The scam offering a fake Green Pass from Italy was made available through anonymous channels on Telegram which were linked to the dark web.
The fake EUDCCs would cost buyers between €110 and €130 and payment was to be made in cryptocurrency only.
Head of the Milan tax police’s cyber-fraud unit, Gian Luca Berruti, said that: “About 250,000 users had registered, and a hundred tried to interact with the sellers.”
Berruti added that they “ anyone found with these fake certificates, including buyers, risks being prosecuted for offenses punishable by up to six years in prison, such as fraud and using false documents.”
NHS COVID pass scam in the UK
The UK has just celebrated what they call “Freedom Day”, where most COVID regulations have been lifted. This goes along with the release of the NHS COVID pass for vaccinated and tested citizens.
There have already been almost 400 reports of an email scam offering fake vaccine passports.
Action Fraud explained that “the emails ask the recipient to click on a link which takes them to an online form where they are prompted to input personal and financial details. In some cases, the online form has looked very similar to the real NHS website.”
Citizens should be on the lookout for the scam and report it to the Citizens Advice Scams Action Service.
The NHS has confirmed that when issuing COVID passes, they will never require banking details or ask for personal identification documents to be uploaded to any website.
Fake vaccine certificates in Russia
Russia has opened various facilities to vaccinated citizens only, creating widespread concern about discrimination.
Dozens of black-market websites are offering to deliver fake vaccine certificates, for as little as $40. They can also fraudulently register users in the vaccine database for $350.
Moscow-based pediatrician, Bella Bragvadze, is outraged by this crime. “For 3,000 Ruble, your vaccine will be poured into the sink and you will be given a certificate,” said Bragvadze in a local interview.