Every day, millions of Americans roll up their sleeves and receive a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, a herculean feat of science, public health, and government that is nothing short of historic. There’s still a long way to go, but in our fight with a global pandemic, humanity has finally gained the upper hand.
Of course, scammers are trying to profit off it.
Thousands of fake, forged or blank vaccination cards are being sold online, many to anti-vaxxers looking to undermine inoculation requirements set by sports venues, airlines, and businesses.
Tech platforms have pledged to take down the listings, according to The New York Times, but the fraud is in plain sight. Facebook pages named “vax-cards” and eBay listings with “blank vaccine cards” openly peddle the documents.
“We’re seeing a huge market for these false cards online,” Josh Shapiro, the attorney general of Pennsylvania, told the New York Times. Shapiro was one of forty-five attorneys general who called on Twitter, Shopify and eBay to stop the sale of such cards.
“The false and deceptive marketing and sales of fake COVID vaccine cards threaten the health of our communities, slow progress in getting our residents protected from the virus, and are a violation of the laws of many states,” says a letter from the bipartisan group.
The New York Times quotes Saoud Khalifah, the founder of a company that detects fake listings online, to explain the proliferation of the scam:
The C.D.C. introduced the vaccination cards in December, describing them as the “simplest” way to keep track of Covid-19 shots. By January, sales of false vaccine cards started picking up, Mr. Khalifah said.
Many people found the cards were easy to forge from samples available online. Authentic cards were also stolen by pharmacists from their workplaces and put up for sale, he said. Many people who bought the cards were opposed to the Covid-19 vaccines, Mr. Khalifah said. In some anti-vaccine groups on Facebook, people have publicly boasted about getting the cards.
“My body my choice,” wrote one commenter in a Facebook post last month. Another person replied, “Can’t wait to get mine too, lol.”
The FBI has warned Americans about the dangers of fake vaccination cards in a public service announcement last week:
“If you did not receive the vaccine, do not buy fake vaccine cards, do not make your own vaccine cards, and do not fill-in blank vaccination record cards with false information,” the FBI warning said. “By misrepresenting yourself as vaccinated when entering schools, mass transit, workplaces, gyms, or places of worship, you put yourself and others around you at risk of contracting COVID-19.”
Fraudsters might also face legal consequences. Shapiro, the Pennsylvania attorney general, told the New York Times that “in addition to violating federal copyright laws, the sale of counterfeit and stolen cards most likely broke civil and consumer protection laws that mandate that an item can be used as advertised. The cards could also violate state laws regarding impersonation.”
