Status: 03.07.2021 5:15 p.m.
The “Green Pass” is becoming more and more popular, and the demand is attracting criminals. Italian investigators have now uncovered a network of counterfeiters that is said to have offered fake certificates for digital vaccination records.
The Italian police picked up a network that had offered fake corona certificates for the digital vaccination certificate. In total, there were ten channels and accounts that led users to anonymous accounts on marketplaces on the dark web, said the financial police in Rome. On the online trading platforms, sellers would have offered forgeries for the digital certificate in exchange for payment in crypto currencies.
According to the Guardia di Finanza, the price for this was between 110 and 130 euros. Thousands of users have registered on the Telegram channels, it said. Ampoules with an alleged vaccine against corona were also offered for sale there.
Freedoms at home abroad
Proof of the digital vaccination certificate certifies complete vaccination protection against Covid-19 and is important for trips within the EU, for example.
In Italy, according to government sources, people can use the vaccination certificate to go to public events. Proof is also important for travel within Italy – if you go to a region that is considered to be a corona zone with a higher risk of infection, or if you come back from there.