Europol warns fake Covid certificates being sold across Europe

Criminal rings are selling fake Covid certificates.

European fraudsters are illicitly producing and selling fake negative coronavirus test certificates online and even in airports and stations, according to The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, better known under the name Europol.

With a negative PCR test now required for travel to most countries, this has created a surge in demand for such test results which many scammers are able to provide for an even cheaper price than the original.

In the UK, fraudsters were caught at Luton Airport selling bogus Covid-19 test documents for £100, faking the name of a genuine laboratory on the counterfeit certificates. A PCR certificate in the UK typically costs around £200.

Forgery cases have also been reported in France and the Netherlands.

At Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport a gang was arrested for selling forged results for between €150 to €300 to passengers prior to checking-in.

The arrests were made as part of an investigation that began after a passenger was ready to board a flight to Addis Ababa with a forged document. If convicted, the scammers could face up to five years in prison and a fine of €375,000.

In the Netherlands, WhatsApp and Snapchat accounts with names such as “Airplane Doctor” and “Digital Doctor” were routinely selling fake PCR test certificates advertising the forged signatures of real doctors for €50, compared with the €150 cost for an official test.

Craig Jones, cybercrime director at Interpol, warned that as the world deglobalises as a result of Covid-19, cybercriminals are actually becoming more globalised by working together.

“Interpol has in fact already encountered large numbers of counterfeit vaccines in a country in Africa, together with paperwork that looks legitimate,” he said.

“We also have to be cognisant of the gap between the haves and have-nots. Those who don’t have access to the vaccine will want to get hold of it, and we will see cybercriminals moving into that area because they will see an opportunity.”