- The large number of fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates shocked Mexico.
- These fake immunization certificates are said to be sold in the country’s capital.
- The seller’s target is those who need to provide proof of vaccination for travel purposes.
The first is fake vaccines. Now, the Mexican capital is selling fake coronavirus immunization certificates, aimed at people traveling to countries that require vaccination certificates.
In an area in a historic district known for printers and counterfeiters, a new service has appeared, along with documents claiming to be birth certificates, driving licenses and passports.
A supplier said that customers of fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates are usually people who want to travel but have not yet been fully vaccinated, or the vaccine they are vaccinated is not recognized in the country they plan to visit.
“If they are vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine, we will change it to Pfizer or Sputnik 5 here,” said the man who called himself Chris.
According to a reporter from Agence France-Presse, he was not deterred by the presence of nearby police. He told potential customers that the price ranged from $55 to $100.
“You will get the documents in two hours,” he added, while working in the Santo Domingo district, his face was partially covered by a mask.
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The Mexican Ministry of Health recently announced that people who have been vaccinated can download the immunization certificate for free through the official website for use in travel or other situations.
In Mexico, which has a population of 126 million, approximately 21 million people have been vaccinated. The country uses Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Cansino, Sputnik V and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
The official certificate has a QR code that redirects the person who scans it to the government page, confirming that the holder is fully immune.
The counterfeiter proposed to tamper with the code, but it is not clear whether it is really effective.
Cybersecurity expert Carlos Ramirez said that to deceive the system requires a certain level of technical knowledge so that the person checking the certificate is redirected to a fake government website.
He said that in theory, the data requested by the customer can be loaded into each QR code-which is a challenging but not impossible task for cybercriminals.
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The Mexican Ministry of Health did not respond to requests for information about its digital security agreement and what measures it plans to take to deal with counterfeit products.
This is not the first fraudulent activity related to the Mexican pandemic. Pfizer said in April that it had found fake vaccines sold under its brand name in Mexico.
In Santo Domingo, fake laboratory tests with negative Covid-19 results are also sold for about $30.
In Mexico, forging official documents can be punishable by 4 to 8 years in prison. The official death toll from the coronavirus exceeds 235,000, the fourth highest in the world.
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