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A Facebook page promoting health and beauty products features an intriguing photo: a stack of blank Covid-19 vaccination cards, with the Centers for Disease Control logo on top. “Get your immunization card at a very affordable price,” says a nearby caption. From my personal Facebook account, I clicked on a button offering more information. The details quickly appeared in the Facebook messaging window: A vaccine card costs $ 100. For wholesale orders, the price drops to $ 90. Once you’ve provided the necessary personal information and paid in bitcoin, it takes 24 hours to process the order, which is then shipped overnight.
The FBI says it’s illegal to buy a fake vaccination card so I haven’t placed an order and can’t confirm if the site is a legitimate fake card provider. It is very clear, however, that there is a thriving cottage industry in the false documentation relating to Covid-19. As municipalities like New York City and a growing list of employers demand proof of vaccination, black market alternatives inevitably arise for those who do not wish to be vaccinated properly. “This development has led to a dramatic increase in activity in English-speaking illicit communities of threat actors seeking to sell, buy or produce proof of vaccination certificates,” cybersecurity firm Flashpoint reported in a recent analysis.
Fake vaccine documents have been circulating since the vaccines themselves became available late last year. They’ve appeared on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and other popular sites, which typically delete pages once they’re discovered. Authorities arrested people for allegedly selling fake cards. Hawaii police caught a Florida couple accused of using four fake cards, including cards for two young children under the vaccination age. Memphis appears to be a hotbed for fake cards. Customs officials recently seized more than 300,000 counterfeit cards sent to the United States from China.
Bitcoin required
I wanted to see what it takes for an ordinary person to get a fake card. There is no need to go to the dark web, where organized criminal gangs ply their trade. It seems necessary to have bitcoin, which sellers want in order to limit the ability of law enforcement to track them.
Like other mainstream websites, Facebook (FB) claims it removes scammer accounts as it finds them and aggressively monitors efforts to undermine public health linked to Covid. Its guidelines prohibit the sale of any medical information, whether false or genuine. Yahoo Finance does not identify any service that we have found that offers fake vaccination cards.
But they’re not hard to find. The Telegram messaging app appears to be a place where vaccine card merchants can operate with relative impunity. Several Facebook accounts that appear to be offering fake cards are referring visitors to Telegram accounts.
Although I have had a Facebook account for years, I didn’t have a Telegram account until I wanted to search the app for fake vaccine cards. I created an account and contacted a seller whose account name I found on Facebook. This time I identified myself as a Yahoo Finance reporter and asked if I could interview the seller, anonymously, about the fake card sale. The response: “Yeah sir if you’re ready to make a purchase. “
Bulk buy
I was not going to make a purchase and potentially break the law. But I asked for information. The price for a card was $ 150. I could get up to 50 cards for $ 100 each, and for more than 50 the unit price would drop to $ 80. “We have big stuff for everyone,” the salesperson told me. Payment should be in bitcoin.
Telegram did not respond to a request for comment. Telegram is an encrypted messaging app founded by two Russian brothers who moved their operations to Germany. It’s similar to Facebook-owned Whatsapp, except with a reputation as an outlaw. Researchers have discovered terrorist propaganda, cybercrime and other illicit activity on the app, which recently took off and now has more than 500 million users worldwide.
Some fake vaccination cards have their own websites. One of those cards appears to be a joke, with a photo of a card with “Whiskey – Jack Daniels” written in the box where the vaccine type and batch number would normally go. In the column entitled “Health professional or clinic site”, it says “Applebee’s”. The price is $ 7.99 and the site accepts credit cards. Since I did not order a card, I am not sure if it is a prank card or a blank CDC knockoff for fraudulent purposes. I emailed an address listed on the site, and an anonymous commenter told me the card was arriving as a joke, rather than a blank: “This is not a vaccine card.”
The CDC’s white paper Covid vaccine cards are easy to reproduce and are not meant to be fraud-proof. “All you have to do is scan one of the forms,” explains Cyber Threat Analyst Ilya Volovik of Gemini Advisory. “We have seen cybercriminals release electronic versions of the CDC card. The model is there. This activity tends to take place on the dark web, which is more of a business-to-business platform for criminals. The cost of the template is $ 100 to $ 150, and anyone who buys it can then print as many blank cards as they want, using paper with a thickness similar to CDC cards. It’s a way for scammers who sell fake cards in physical locations to build up inventory.
Gemini provided this screenshot of a vendor offering a CDC vaccine card template on the dark web:
Europe has instituted digital QR codes on vaccination cards that link to government websites showing proof of an individual’s vaccination. This provides a degree of security unavailable in the United States, except in states or cities that have deployed digital proof of vaccination, such as the New York Excelsior Pass. But there are even fake versions of these QR codes for sale, which mimic what the real codes are supposed to do. The Facebook card seller I contacted offered a card with a European-style QR code for $ 150, $ 50 more than the simple American-style card.
Some fake card offers are probably scams within scams, in which a buyer sends bitcoin and never gets anything in return. “Of course you can get ripped off,” Volovik says. “You are not going to go to the police.” It is also possible that the police will give an injection. If you get the real vaccine, on the other hand, there are no legal issues. Plus, it’s free.
Rick Newman is the author of four books, including “Rebounders: How Winners Go From Failure To Success.”Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman. You can also send confidential advice, and click here to receive Rick’s stories by email.
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