In Upper Franconia, several people tried to get a real vaccination QR code using forged vaccination cards. Since mid-August, about ten people have presented vaccination certificates in a pharmacy in the Lichtenfels district, the Upper Franconia police said on Tuesday, and some had also received the proof. “The vaccination cards all had the stamp of a doctor’s practice in Bamberg and only had the corona entries,” said a spokesman. Therefore, the pharmacist became suspicious and investigated. Accordingly, none of the people affected was a patient at the Bamberg doctor’s practice – the vaccination cards were forged, apparently with false signatures on the stamps.
In the subsequent apartment searches, the police found narcotics in addition to fake vaccination certificates. The suspects are now being investigated for falsification of documents, among other things. They “face severe penalties,” said the Upper Franconian police and the Coburg public prosecutor. Fines and imprisonment can be imposed in such cases. As things stand, there is much to suggest that the practice has nothing to do with the forgeries, said a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office.
In Munich and the surrounding area, a pharmacy employee trades fake QR codes
In the meantime, more than 500 fake corona vaccination certificates have apparently been put into circulation from Munich and the surrounding area. Four suspects had initially offered vaccination QR codes on the Darknet for 350 euros each without having to prove a vaccination, said the Nuremberg Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday. An employee of a Munich pharmacy then apparently used the pharmacy’s IT systems to create the QR codes. In October alone, more than 500 vaccination codes are said to have been issued and then distributed via a messenger service. The pharmacist himself is not listed as a suspect.
The Federal Criminal Police Office became aware of the case, and the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office took over. During searches of the pharmacy in Munich-Schwabing and private apartments in the vicinity of Munich, around 100,000 euros in cash were found, and crypto currencies were also seized, it said. An arrest warrant was issued against the workers and one other person.