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NEW YORK (AP) – The Senate’s top Democrat has said federal law enforcement officials must crack down on fake COVID-19 vaccination cards sold online.
Sen. Chuck Schumer’s announcement on Sunday comes after The Associated Press reported how people are cheating the system and buying counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards online, worrying officials at colleges and universities across the country who are demanding proof that students have received the vaccine to attend classes in person.
Schumer demands that U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the FBI partner with Department of Health and Human Services officials to launch a crackdown on counterfeit cards and launch a campaign to raise awareness that card forgery could drive people to federal prison.
He also wants the Justice Department to immediately prioritize cases involving fake vaccine cards and push for customs and border protection to step up efforts to find counterfeit cards sent from abroad.
Federal agents have already seized thousands of fake vaccine cards this year. Customs and border protection officers working in Memphis seized another shipment earlier this week – sent from Shenzhen, China to New Orleans – that contained dozens of fake cards, officials said. .
The FBI issued a joint statement with the Department of Health and Human Services in March urging people not to buy, create or sell fabricated vaccine cards. Unauthorized use of the seal of an official government agency is a federal crime punishable by a fine and up to five years in prison.
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