FBI Warns Against Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Cards

ACROSS AMERICA — With states reopening their economies and rolling back safety restrictions, some people may be tempted to buy fake COVID-19 vaccination record cards to avoid getting the vaccine, but the FBI warns that it's illegal as well as dangerous.

The agency has begun investigating a growing trend of online retailers and individuals touting fake vaccination cards for sale as well as posts encouraging people to print their own cards at home, according to a statement. In addition to violating federal law, the fake cards may put people's health ask risk if an unvaccinated person misrepresents themselves as having protection against the coronavirus.

“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 said.

The warning follows one issued in February by the Federal Trade Commission against posting photos of completed vaccination cards on social media. Sharing such a photo could open a person up for identity theft, because the card contains a person's full name and date of birth.

Listings for fake or blank vaccination cards bearing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention logo have popped up on sites such as Twitter, eBay and Shopify. More than two dozen attorneys general from across the United States sent a letter to the retailers April 1 asking for immediate action from the platforms to prevent them from being used as a “vehicle to commit these fraudulent deceptive acts that harm our communities.”

Some of the actions the group is asking for include monitoring for any activity involving fake cards, taking down any listings or posts involving fake cards, and keeping records of those postings.

“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,” according to the National Association of Attorneys General letter. “Multiple states’ laws provide for injunctive relief, damages, penalties and other remedies for such conduct.”

The companies have said any such postings violate their sites' terms of service and are actively being removed, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

A Twitter spokesperson told the paper it prioritizes the "removal of high-severity violations that could potentially cause real-world harm" including misleading information about COVID-19.

A Shopify spokesman told the Chronicle the site has been "proactively monitoring" for any illegal sale of COVID-19 vaccines cards since February and has acted swiftly to remove them.

An eBay spokeswoman also told the paper it has been working with the Food and Drug Administration to monitor its site for listings involving the COVID-19 vaccines and have removed roughly 50 million listings that violated the company’s policies.