- More than 1,200 vendors operating in the UK and worldwide, offering false documents for as little as £25.
- This takes place after UK ministers announced the return of overseas holidays – with travellers required to show proof of negative tests, and vaccine passports on the horizon.
- The Guardian has also learned that anti-vaxxers and people arriving in Britain from poorer nations make up a significant number of those buying forged pandemic paraphernalia.
A recent news article published in The Guardian reveals that fake Covid vaccine and test certificate market is growing, according to researchers.
What happened?
Last month MPs were told that more than 100 people a day are trying to enter the UK using fake Covid test certificates as individuals attempt to get around current entry requirements, which include tests before and after travel and can cost individuals hundreds of pounds.
Israel-based researchers
Israel-based researchers found evidence of forgeries of vaccine cards by the NHS and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alongside fake test certificates, all available for sale on the dark web and through easy-to-access platforms including the messaging apps WhatsApp, Telegram and Jabber.
Products purported to be Covid vaccines and treatments are also offered, according to Oded Vanunu and Liad Mizrachi of the cybersecurity firm Check Point.
20 dark web vendors
The researchers detected about 20 dark web vendors by November last year, which grew to 600 in January and more than 1,200 by March.
The darknet is a network within the internet that can only be accessed with specific software.
There are also multiple channels on Telegram, an encrypted messaging service, some of which have in excess of 1,000 subscribers.
Against the law
Providing falsified documents is against the law.
Border Force officers are trained to detect falsified and counterfeit documents and have the right to refuse entry and issue [a] £500 fine to any visitor they believe has travelled to the UK using fraudulent Covid test certificates.
Individuals who fail to comply with their legal duty to quarantine at home following international travel can be fined £1,000, increasing to £10,000 for repeat offences.
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Source: The Guardian
