THE COUNTRY
The European Police Office, Europol, has alerted the EU on Monday that an organized crime gang falsifies and sells false negative PCR tests of covid-19 to travelers across Europe.
Its name is Rathkeale Rovers Mobile Organized Crime Group, it is Irish according to the Irish media, and it allegedly uses a mobile phone application to falsify the results.
Until now, Europol had evidence of the existence of several groups that do the same and take advantage of airports and other transport hubs to sell these documents at prices that can reach 300 euros each.
There is also online sale.
In France, they have discovered a network operating at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, and there have been several arrests.
There, prices ranged from 150 to 300 euros.
The same has happened in the United Kingdom, where around 100 euros were requested at Luton airport;
there are also detainees.
In Spain, the National Police have arrested at least one person who offered them for 40 euros.
And in the Netherlands, the price demanded by scammers was 60 euros.
Coronavirus tests in order to travel are required by several countries, inside and outside Europe, due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, which includes the closure of borders in some cases.
It is a type of crime that Europol, based in The Hague, describes as "opportunistic", and has asked EU partners to keep it informed.
"As long as there are limitations to travel due to covid-19, it is likely that the production and sale of false certificates will continue," their spokesmen have indicated.
The proliferation of high precision technological means, be it printers or different
software
programs
, facilitates the circulation of fraudulent documents ”, they add.
On their Twitter account, they list the scams discovered to date at the behest of the pandemic.
They are these: “Personal protective equipment;
fake vaccines and now… false negative test too ”.
Interpol already warned last December that organized crime "would try to sell fake vaccines against the virus, or to steal remittances."
The Dutch media indicated in November 2020 that there were some fake accounts of the WhatsApp and Snapchat applications, with names like “Vliegtuig Arts” (the plane doctor), “Digitale Dokter” (the digital doctor) or “Covid 1950”, They asked between 50 and 60 euros for this type of document.
They used the names of practicing doctors, who went to the police when they found out.
The scammers only asked for personal information and the date of the flight.
An hour later, the document was ready with the logo of the official service that does legal coronavirus tests.
In these types of cases, both the criminals and their clients commit a crime by closing the deal.