Cybercriminals are offering to sell fake Canadian COVID-19 vaccination certificates online
CBC
As provinces and employers across Canada increase restrictions on the unvaccinated or introduce vaccine passports, cybercriminals are attempting to cash in by offering fake vaccination certificates for sale online.
Sellers are offering phoney proof-of-vaccination documents for several provinces that apparently look just like the real thing. Some of them even claim to be able to enter the data from the fake certificates into official government databases.
Prices and promises vary, according to offers viewed by CBC News on platforms like Telegram. One seller is offering fake proof-of-vaccination cards or QR codes for several provinces — including Manitoba and B.C. — for $200, payable in Bitcoin or Ethereum cryptocurrencies. They promise to deliver the fake documents within 48 hours by mail or in "just a few hours" if they're being sent electronically.
Just minutes after CBC News reached out to the seller, they sent a picture of an Ontario proof-of-vaccination form that appears to be identical to those being issued by many Ontario vaccination clinics. Photos posted online by the seller of fake proof-of-vaccination documents for B.C and Manitoba also mirror official documents.
The seller boasted that information on the bogus cards is entered in provincial databases.
Another seller claimed to be based in Montreal. His channel, which was being followed by 320,065 subscribers when it was viewed by CBC News, included offers of fake proof-of-vaccination from several jurisdictions around the world — and featured photos of an Alberta proof-of-vaccination certificate that resembles the real one.
There is no way to know how many fake vaccination documents are in circulation in Canada.
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