Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Cards Are A Crime, FBI Says

Counterfeit vaccine cards started selling almost immediately after the first COVID-19 vaccines began rolling out and have become popular among anti-vaccine groups.

An official CDC COVID-19 vaccination record card with pharmaceutical beaker. | Getty Images
An official CDC COVID-19 vaccination record card with pharmaceutical beaker. | Getty Images

As life-saving vaccines become available to most adults in the U.S., scammers are finding a way to trick the system by selling fake vaccination cards.

On April 1, a group of attorneys general sent a letter to the CEOs of Twitter, eBay, and Shopify calling on them to “take immediate action” against the marketing and selling of fake vaccine cards. According to multiple reports, the cards resemble those given to people who have been vaccinated for COVID-19, complete with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention logo.

The letter asked the companies to monitor their platforms for advertisements and links for fake vaccine cards and immediately remove them.

“The false and deceptive marketing and sales of fake COVID vaccine cards threatens the health of our communities, slows progress in getting our residents protected from the virus, and are a violation of the laws of many states,” the letter reads.

The FBI issued a warning in March to people who are selling and buying fake vaccination cards that using an official government seal from agencies the CDC or the Department of Health and Human services is a crime punishable up to five years in prison.

“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,” The FBI advisory states.

Fake vaccination cards went on the market shortly after the first federally approved vaccine doses were distributed in December; they have been a hot item among anti-vaccine groups online, according to the New York Times. The CDC told the Times it was “aware” of the fraudulent cards.

Experts have warned against the spread of misinformation around the COVID-19 virus and vaccine, zeroing in on the anti-vaccine movement that has snowballed in recent years.

Businesses, organizations, and employers have started using proof of the vaccine as a ticket back into pre-pandemic life. Sporting and entertainment venues including Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center in New York City have begun allowing vaccinated fans or people who present a negative COVID-19 test back into professional sports games.

As proof of COVID-19 vaccination becomes a standard requirement for more organizations, many people have already sounded the alarm about the practice limiting freedom. Conservatives have particularly seized on a debate around “vaccine passports,” which can prove that a person has been fully vaccinated, allowing them to safely travel and move more freely without high risk of infection.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Tuesday banned “government-mandated vaccine passports, following a similar recent move from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Gov. DeSantis said it’s “completely unacceptable” for an organization or business to require vaccination records and signed an executive order banning individual businesses and government entities from requiring proof of vaccination.

The White House has confirmed it would not be enacting any federal regulations requiring vaccine passports.

In a recent interview with France 24, leading infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci continued encouraging people to get vaccinated, adding: “This is a global pandemic and it requires a global response.”

“We encourage people very strongly to get vaccinated because these vaccines are highly effective, we know that,” Fauci said. “The larger proportion of people that get vaccinated, the more quickly you will get the epidemic and the pandemic under control.”