United States — The federal officials in Memphis, Tennessee have seized thousands of counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards over the last year, said the U.S. border patrol officials.
It was reported that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has managed to confiscate 3,017 of fake paper cards from 121 shipments that arrived at a port in Memphis from China as of Friday (13 August).
The cards, which authorities noted were heading to New Orleans, have the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) logo in the upper right corner as well as blank space for individual to fill in their name, birthdate, and information about the vaccine they are alleging to have received.
However, there are a number of typos and unfinished words, as well as some of the Spanish verbiage on the back is misspelled, the CBP said in a news release.
The CBP added that buying, selling or using a fake vaccination card that has an official government agency seal, like the CDC or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), can result in a fine and up to five years in prison.
“If you do not wish to receive a vaccine, that is your decision. But don’t order a counterfeit, waste my officer’s time, break the law, and misrepresent yourself,” said Michael Neipert, Area Port Director of Mempis in a statement.
He added, “When you order a fake vaxx card, you are using my officers’ time as they also seize fentanyl and methamphetamines.”
Such an incident has not only be reported to be happening in the U.S.
On the local front, business owners have reported that members of the public have also presented them with a fake vaccination certificate when they want to dine in at restaurants.
“We encountered some people thinking they can dine-in while unvaccinated if they are in a group of two; we also had a small number of people who presented fake certificates or insisted they’re fully vaccinated before the 14-day milestone,” said Howard Lo, the Director of the Empire Eats Group to The Straits Times.
Even Malaysia is facing similar predicament after reports surfaced revealing that fake digital certificates are being sold online.
The digital certificates are being sold for as low as RM15 (S$4.80), said Datuk Dr Mohd Rushdan Mohd Noor, Consultant Gynae Oncologist at a government hospital in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, in a Facebook post.
