In France, fraudulent Covid-19 vaccination certificates are sold online to travelers leaving for Morocco, Spain, and Portugal after the announcement of the extension of the health pass to more places starting next week. In some cases, this is a 2.0 scam.
“We offer you the creation of a 100% valid health pass produced by doctors with whom we collaborate”, explains one of these channels (Snapchat or Telegram) which offers to sell false (real) vaccination certificates against the coronavirus. The chain demanded from France Info, which passed itself off as a customer, for 250 euros in exchange for the health pass. An amount that must be paid in Monero, a cryptocurrency that guarantees the anonymity of transactions. The duration of obtaining the precious sesame is one week. “We must drown the files in the masses, hence the slowness of the file,” one explains.
On Snapchat, the interlocutor reassures: “It works! I already have people who have traveled with them, who have gone to Morocco, Spain, Portugal.” He says he works with a doctor in his town, in Savoie: a professional authorized to publish a compliant certificate on the Health Insurance website. “The doctor earns 300 euros per vaccine. Afterward, he doesn’t make a lot of them, he pays attention to himself. The certificate, he continues, will be available directly on the official website ameli.fr. “It’s a real QR code, it’s like he injected you with the dose. He empties a vaccine in the sink and writes that he put it for you. That’s it, it’s that easy.”
Ads like this abound on the web. Another user promises a pass in 24 hours: “You have to send me your Vitale card and 110 euros deposit. » I need your vital card in the photo, please. The price is 250 euros, you pay in Safe Card [on Paypal], details a profile. Journalists from France Info noted that some of the profiles contacted were deleted overnight and a phone number became unreachable. This will not be the case with their colleagues from the Parisian. They managed to obtain a real certificate of (false) vaccination for 300 € in a vaccination center.
The Ministry of Solidarity and Health declared “to follow the subject very closely.” Also, he “alerted the ARS as well as the vaccination centers in order to strengthen their vigilance and identify any suspicious acts or movements.” Offenders are exposed to severe penalties in the event of forgery: a fine of € 45,000 and a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
