These countries may have a big fake vaccination certificate problem – Times of India

Covid-19 pandemic has crippled the world in more than one way but vaccines, as per scientists and doctors, are the way to curtail and perhaps end it. The vaccination drive has been on in several countries across the world for a while now. However, it seems like there’s a fake Covid-19 vaccination certificate problem prevalent in many countries. According to cybersecurity research firm Check Point, there has been an exponential growth in market activity for fake coronavirus vaccine certificates. The primary mode which is being used to sell fake vaccination certificates is Telegram, according to Check Point.
The firm said that sellers are organising their services in groups on Telegram, with some groups exceeding 450,000 followers, as sellers view Telegram as a far more efficient means to scale distribution. Certificates from EU, CDC (US), NHS (UK) are being sold for as low as $100. Not just that fake RT-PCR Covid-19 tests are also being sold.
Check Point said that the majority of the fake certificates are being sold from European countries.

How are fake Covid-19 certificates being sold?

Scamsters use advertisements that are specifically designed for people “who do not want to take the vaccine”. For example, one advertisement read, “we are here to save the world from this poisonous vaccine.” The advertisements highlight the ability to travel and work freely as benefits of their product. Advertisements purport that their vaccination cards are registered and verified in the NHS and CDC system online, as well as the EU database.
The sellers accept payments through PayPal as well as cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Monero, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Ethereum and others). In some cases, Steam, Amazon and ebay gift-cards are also accepted.

Which are the affected countries?

As per Check Point, country range widens for fake vaccination cards, where USA, UK and Germany made the majority of advertisements in March. However, sellers on the darknet now advertise fake vaccination cards for all over the world, including USA, UK, Switzerland, Pakistan, Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Indonesia, France.