Fraudsters Seek Fake COVID Test Reports as New Travel Restrictions Roll Out

As the new travel restrictions are imposed to omit the spread of the coronavirus, the fraudsters have begun to take advantage of the situation by selling fake reports showing the negative result of the COVID-19 test.

The law enforcement agency in the EU carried out an investigation to discover that there has been an increase in the fake test certificates of COVID-19 that are being sold to the travelers. This occurs as more and more countries in the European region have obligated the travelers to present the COVID-19 test to prove their negative coronavirus status. This is done to identify the COVID infected passengers and stop them from spreading the disease. 

Europol, the European Union’s law-enforcement agency, said, “As long as travel restrictions remain in place due to the Covid-19 situation, it is highly likely that production and sales of fake test certificates will prevail. Given the widespread technological means available, in the form of high quality printers and different software, fraudsters are able to produce high-quality counterfeit, forged or fake documents.” 

Authorities in France, Indonesia, the UK have already arrested the passengers with the false COVID-19 report. A fraudsters network in Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, was busted after being discovered selling forged negative test results to  the travelers. They were charging an amount of $181-$363 for a negative report. Another fraudster was caught in Spain for selling the forged test certificates online for 40 euros. In the Netherlands, it was discovered that fraudsters are selling fake results of negative tests for around 50 to 60 euros through messages.

IHMA (International Health Management Associate) states that, “Covid continues to present opportunities for crafty criminals, who are infiltrating global supply channels, deploying scams and counterfeiting measures to trick consumers and damage manufacturers. Furthermore, items such as falsified medicines and test kits can pose a terrible threat and can endanger lives.”