Corona: Risky game with fake vaccination passports - harsh penalties are likely to come soon

Corona measures are being tightened in many places.

Fraudsters want to circumvent the rules with forged vaccination certificates.

But now the state wants to act.

Munich - The situation of the corona pandemic * in Germany is coming to a head again.

Many federal states are tightening the measures - and calls for stricter controls are also being heard.

There are incentives for minor or major fraud: Vaccinated people currently have more freedom than unvaccinated people.

However, fraudsters see an alternative to both continue to refuse the vaccination and to enjoy the freedom of the vaccinated: manipulated vaccination passports.

In the meantime, the forgery of vaccination passports has evidently become a real industry.

Often the goal is to get vaccination certificates with the wrong passports.

These can then be scanned into apps, for example.

Corona certificates: More and more fraudsters want to get certificates with forged passports - pharmacists are alarmed

Christina Wallrabe, a pharmacist from Dortmund, has met dozens of vaccination swindlers in the past few months, as she

reported

to

. On average, she sees two fakes a day. At an encounter two weeks ago, the 55-year-old was even physically attacked by her own account. When, thanks to Wallrabe's caution, a man's forged vaccination certificate was discovered, the man rolled her arm behind her back. The attacker fled when another customer of the pharmacist came to help.

Not only Wallrabe, but pharmacists from all over Germany complain about forged vaccination certificates.

It is a dangerous game that both counterfeiters and their customers are playing.

Although users are unprotected from counterfeits, the rules for the unvaccinated do not apply to them.

These people can pose a fatal risk to parts of the population.

Corona vaccination passports: It is not clear how many counterfeits are in circulation - tracking is difficult

How many fakes are there now?

The competent authorities do not have an exact answer to this question.

According to a survey by

, however, around 2,000 investigations into forged passports are ongoing - more than 600 in Bavaria and 150 in Berlin.

The police assume a "considerable" number of unreported cases.

According to the survey, around 3000 imitations have been seized in Bavaria so far.

The first forged vaccination passports appeared in the Free State as early as May.

Corona measures are currently being tightened in several places, which may lead to higher demand for fake passports.

Since the digital vaccination certificates are only created temporarily in the pharmacies and then deleted, it is difficult to trace the forged passports.

Once a certificate has been issued on the basis of an imitation passport, the fraudsters can easily get away.

On the messenger service Telegram, the swindlers advertise their mass-produced passports in groups with thousands of members.

Fraudsters also spread false information about the alleged dangers of a vaccination against corona.

These are toxic vaccines with "very deadly side effects".

Corona fraud: State intervenes - imprisonment threatens

So far it is unclear how manufacturers and customers of the imitation passports will be penalized.

There is no specific regulation, legal opinions on the subject differ.

The Osnabrück regional court found a loophole in the law, but only saw criminal liability in the case of deception of authorities or insurance companies.

Three Public Prosecutors from Lower Saxony countered this by stating that there was no reason to assume a criminal liability loophole, because this was "quite obviously" not compatible with the will of the legislature.

Here one can fall back on the general criminal offense of forgery, so the attorneys general.

Now politicians also want to take action.

A draft law of the Union to "improve protection against vaccination forgeries" is due to come to the Bundestag on Thursday.

In addition, the traffic light coalition is currently dealing with the problem.

She wants to bring a law in motion that provides for imprisonment of up to two years for the fraudsters and their customers.