After non-compliant hydroalcoholic masks and gels or even false negative PCR tests, the world is now witnessing the emergence of scams around vaccination.
On Wednesday, the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer confirmed that suspicious doses of its product, seized in Mexico and Poland, were in fact fake vaccines.
A discovery that obviously did not surprise Lev Kubiak, director of security for the American company, who admitted to the Wall Street Journal that the mismatch between limited supply and high demand was clearly "a perfect opportunity. for criminals ”.
Read alsoCovid-19: fake Pfizer vaccines circulated in Poland and Mexico
Fortunately, the scam has not yet made a victim, at least from a health point of view.
In Poland, authorities got their hands on counterfeit vaccines from a man's apartment before it was too late: no one received a false dose.
In Mexico, a clinic did administer false serum to 80 people, but it was apparently without adverse effect on health, failing to be effective against Covid-19.
According to Mexican authorities, the vials were found in coolers.
They bore wacky lot numbers, and invented expiration dates.
Read alsoDeconfinement: "The crooks adapt to the evolution of the health crisis"
From the beginning of December, Interpol had warned its 194 member countries that organized crime was going to market “fake vaccines”.
On its Twitter account, Interpol also regularly alerts the general public: "At best, it is ineffective against Covid-19, at worst it is dangerous for your health".
According to the international criminal police organization, at least 3,000 sites are already selling fake drugs against Covid-19.
The only way to get a legitimate # COVID19Vaccine is from national healthcare regulators.
Buying online is dangerous business.
pic.twitter.com/SOK8epQylj
- INTERPOL (@INTERPOL_HQ) March 24, 2021
Main playground for criminals: South America.
Last spring, even before the development of the first vaccines, false doses intended for the populations of the subcontinent were sold in the meanders of the Dark Web for several hundred euros.
This region of the world, like South Africa, is still today particularly targeted by cybercriminals because of the distress of the population, still grappling with the epidemic, assures the expert in cybersecurity Check Point Research.
"The limited supply of vaccines may encourage people to get vaccinated outside official channels, especially in countries like Mexico and Brazil, where cases of Covid-19 are high" and where counterfeit drugs on ordinance is a well-established practice, also explains the Wall Street Journal, citing experts in industrial safety.
Screen capture of a site on the Dark Web offering the vaccine “Jonhson” (sic) at 600 dollars (500 euros).
Check Point Research
Scams of all kinds abound online.
The Wall Street Journal reveals that the United States, Mexico and other countries have taken down dozens of fraudulent websites purporting to sell vaccines or an affiliation with vaccine manufacturers such as Moderna and Pfizer, according to government officials.
Sometimes the ploy is simply to retrieve personal information from consumers.
Little chance of finding fake vaccines in France
In France, the phenomenon is monitored by the Central Office for the Fight against Attacks on the Environment and Public Health (Oclaesp), a judicial police service of the national gendarmerie. But according to investigators, the trafficking of fake vaccines has almost no chance of reaching our territory. "This does not concern France because the French are used to a certified drug supply circuit and to a Social Security system which makes it possible to supervise access to drugs", explains one to Oclaesp. .
"The French are attentive to drugs of which they know the brand, the laboratory," continues the gendarmerie.
There are very few reasons why they should go and get their own vaccine, at their own expense, on uncertified platforms.
"However, Oclaesp is monitoring this problem:" We are attentive to it, even if it does not concern us.
What is more worrying for us is the diversion of drugs such as Subutex, anti-cancer drugs… ”
Fake vaccination certificates sold online
If the circulation of fake vaccines therefore rather concerns countries with a more fragile health system, the world's leading power is not spared by another fraud around vaccination.
As the Washington Post reveals, vaccination certificate fraud has started in the United States.
The eBay site lists an "authentic vaccination registration card" that sells for $ 10.99 (around $ 9).
“It's illegal, say federal regulators.
But he has already sold more than 100, “said epidemiologist and health economist Eric Feigl-Ding on Twitter.
Vaccination cards offered for sale on eBay by a pharmacist in the United States.
To be able to say that you are vaccinated when it is false and thus access them schools and other places that require a vaccine # covid19 https://t.co/suanGGtFv0
- Maëlle Fouquenet (@mfouquenet) April 19, 2021
The seller, who calls himself "Asianjackson", allegedly used an account registered with a pharmacist in the Chicago area, the newspaper details.
Unlike the United States, vaccination in France does not give rise to any certificate for the moment.
It appears on the vital card, in the health book, but in all cases, “it remains in the patient's medical data.
There is therefore no fraudulent market in France on that side, ”says the gendarmerie.
French investigators note only "a few cases" of false PCR tests, but the fraud does not reach the order of the phenomenon. "It is the lab that provides the document, so it is difficult to distinguish the true from the false, it is not codified as an official identity document", explains the gendarmerie. Those who require a test, such as training centers, themselves have little means of verifying the authenticity of the result.