Bar owner charged with selling fake COVID vaccination cards

Officials say undercover agents were able to buy the cards at the Old Corner Saloon in Clements, Calif., on several occasions. They said the owner, who was not named, was also found to be in possession of a loaded unregistered firearm, which is a felony.

“It is disheartening to have members in our community show flagrant disregard for public health in the midst of a pandemic,” said Tori Verber Salazar, district attorney for San Joaquin County. “Distributing, falsifying, or purchasing fake COVID-19 vaccine cards is against the law and endangers yourself and those around you.”

The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) said it will file disciplinary action against the business, which could lead to the suspension or revocation of its liquor license.

The ABC said it plans to seek a criminal complaint against another employee of Old Corner Saloon. Sheriff’s officials, while executing a search warrant, found “materials related to the distribution of fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards,” it said.

Fake vaccine cards have been showing up more regularly in the past month and a half. A March report from Check Point Software Technologies, a cybersecurity company, said there has been a surge in fake vaccination certificates online, via the so-called darknet, shady online forums. Users send their details and $200 to cybercriminal hackers and, in return, receive an official-looking vaccination card.

It doesn’t end there. Check Point researchers said they saw over 1,200 advertisements for vaccines on the darknet, with counterfeit versions of the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Chinese Sinopharm shots selling for $500 and counterfeit Johnson & Johnson selling for $600. The Russian Sputnik vaccine is also advertised for $600. Some hackers were charging as much as $1,000 per dose.