Bad actors are claiming to partner with physicians to put unvaccinated customers into official medical databases to falsely show they have been vaccinated, according to an Aug. 24 Cleveland-based Fox 8 report.
Five things to know:
- Fox 8 contacted sellers on backend channels of the internet to find out how much it would cost to purchase a fake vaccine card and be entered into an official healthcare database.
- One seller said it would cost $100 for a blank card and $200 for a registered card. They said a registered card would come from a physician who has access to register people into the vaccine databases. A separate seller said they were working with pharmacies to create fake vaccine credentials.
- Eric Feinberg, vice president with the Coalition for a Safer Web, said fake vaccine cards used to sell for $50 on the dark web. Now the price has increased because sellers are offering to register customers at pharmacies, physicians' offices and hospitals.
- Federal officials said the entire operation could be a con and the sellers may have no connections to physicians or pharmacists.
- Cybersecurity experts also warn that giving up personal information to the seller can lead to identity theft. They can sell the data to other bad actors and profit from it.