Shipment of 3,000 fake COVID vaccine cards from China seized in Alaska, officials say
A shipment of thousands of fake COVID-19 vaccination cards was seized when it arrived in Alaska from China, officials said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials confiscated 3,000 counterfeit vaccine cards on Wednesday.
“The shipments of these cards are low quality printing, and closely resemble the authentic Center for Disease Control (CDC) certificates provided by healthcare practitioners when administering the COVID vaccine,” customs officials said in a news release.
When someone gets vaccinated against the coronavirus, they receive a vaccination card at their first appointment. It lists which of the three authorized vaccines the person received and the date and location of each shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
People need to keep their vaccination cards as proof they received a shot. Vaccine cards are now required in some cases for traveling and going to stores, restaurants and live events.
Because vaccine cards have become an important part of life, it’s become a growing trend to buy or sell fake cards. The FBI has said that’s illegal.
“Getting these fraudulent cards off the streets and out of the hands of those who would then sell them is important for the safety of the American public,” Lance Robinson, Area Port Director of the Area Port of Anchorage, said in the news release.
The shipment to Alaska isn’t the only batch of fake vaccination cards that’s been seized by Customs agents.
A week ago, officials in Memphis flagged another shipment from China that was on its way to New Orleans. Inside were 51 counterfeit COVID-19 vaccine cards that were blank.
“The cards have blanks for the recipient’s name and birthdate, the vaccine maker, lot number, and date and place the shot was given, as well as the Center for Disease Control (CDC) logo in the upper right corner,” CBP officials said. “However, there were typos, unfinished words, and some of the Spanish verbiage on the back was misspelled.”
The package of 51 cards added to the 3,017 total vaccination cards CBP officials have seized in Memphis.
People have been selling bogus COVID-19 vaccination cards on the internet.
Shortly after some vaccines got authorized for emergency use in the U.S., listings for fraudulent cards with a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention logo appeared on major online platforms such as Twitter, Shopify and eBay. Attorneys general from 45 states sent a letter to the CEOs of those major companies asking them not to allow the sale of fake vaccine cards on their platforms.
A licensed pharmacist in Chicago was also arrested after he was accused of selling authentic COVID-19 vaccine cards he stole from the pharmacy on eBay, McClatchy News reported.
Some people have also sold the fake cards out of their businesses. In California, a bar owner was arrested after officials said he sold at least eight counterfeit vaccine cards at the bar.
“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 attorneys general said. “Multiple states’ laws provide for injunctive relief, damages, penalties, and other remedies for such conduct.”
This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 9:37 AM with the headline "Shipment of 3,000 fake COVID vaccine cards from China seized in Alaska, officials say."