Are Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Cards The New Fake IDs?

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — From concerts to assemblage campuses, from the bureau to the bar, impervious of vaccination is rapidly becoming a communal requirement. Now immoderate are acrophobic that fake vaccine cards could go the caller fake ID.

So what are the ineligible implications of buying oregon selling a fake vaccine card?

READ MORE: Yolo County Bus Shortage Cuts Intercounty Routes

“It benignant of depends connected the situation,” said FBI Special Agent Sean Regan. “Utilizing an authoritative insignia of a national agency  would beryllium a national violation.”

The FBI has been moving to combat vaccine paper fraud for months.

The unauthorized usage of the CDC logo is simply a national offense. So if you were to forge a blank CDC oregon HHS document, oregon make a fake papers with the logos, it could beryllium punishable with a good and up to 5 years successful prison – and that’s conscionable the national charges.

“If you’re utilizing the internet, for example,” Regan said, “there could beryllium assorted violations some astatine the authorities and astatine the national level,”

CBS13 recovered blank cards for merchantability connected societal media — and adjacent purchased immoderate connected Amazon successful an effort to place a scam. The advertisement displayed a yellowish planetary vaccine paper but arrived with what appeared to beryllium existent blank COVID vaccine cards too.

We’re turning the cards implicit to authorities.

A Napa doctor was the archetypal to look federal fraud prosecution successful an alleged fake vaccine paper scheme. A San Joaquin County bar owner faced akin charges, successful summation to charges for falsifying aesculapian records and individuality theft.

“Law enforcement officials thin to spell aft the bigger fish,” said UC Hastings Law Professor John Myers.

Much similar cause dealers, Myers says the feds mostly absorption connected the radical accused of selling the cards.

READ MORE: Angry Grandma Confronts Apple Hill Face Painter Over Mask Policy

But helium stresses that erstwhile sellers get caught, their records whitethorn uncover the buyers, too. And utilizing a fake vaccine paper is besides a crime: It’s fraud.

“You could beryllium violating federal, authorities and section laws,” Myers said.

For instance, respective radical person been arrested for utilizing fake vaccine cards successful Hawaii, including a pistillate who got caught due to the fact that she misspelled Moderna.

“I deliberation it’s important for citizens of California to realize the aforesaid happening could hap here,” Myers said.

However, successful bid to beryllium punished, you person to get caught and a photograph of the easy-to-forge insubstantial paper is each that’s mostly required to verify your vaccine.

While schools tin bash random audits and bash person “read-only entree to the California Immunization Registry (CAIR),” backstage businesses bash not.

The CDPH vaccine grounds guidelines let for assorted options to beryllium impervious of vaccination:

•  COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card (issued by the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control & Prevention oregon WHO Yellow Card1) which includes sanction of idiosyncratic vaccinated, benignant of vaccine provided and day doses administered); OR
• A photograph of a vaccination paper arsenic a abstracted document; OR
• A photograph of the client’s vaccine paper stored connected a telephone oregon physics device; OR
• Documentation of vaccination from a healthcare provider; OR
• Digital grounds that includes a QR codification that erstwhile scanned by a SMART Health Card scholar displays to the scholar lawsuit name, day of birth, vaccine dates and vaccine type; OR
• Documentation of vaccination from different contracted employers who travel these vaccination records guidelines and standard.

There is nary nationalist vaccine database, for businesses and others, to reference. And arsenic CBS13 revealed, the authorities database is flawed. Many who are really vaccinated are incapable to find their records owed to typos oregon missing accusation from the vaccine provider.

When it comes to universities, Myers believes galore who get caught volition get caught done connection of mouth.  He besides warns that, transgression penalties aside, “if you spell into a classroom… oregon a barroom with a fake vaccine paper and you infect somebody, they tin writer you.” He adds, if that idiosyncratic dies from COVID, their household could besides perchance writer for wrongful death.

MORE NEWS: State Agency Begins To Assess Damage In Grizzly Flats Left By Caldor Fire

Additionally, helium said, that businesses and universities would person the ineligible authorization to occurrence oregon expel radical who are caught with fake vaccine cards.