"Corona Rebels Weilheim" advertise their "walks" on Telegram - and fake vaccination cards
Created: 03/02/2022, 08:00
By: Sebastian Tauchnitz
In their Telegram group, the "Corona Rebels Weilheim" openly advertise criminal offers.
© Screenshot: SET
Much has been discussed in recent weeks about the obscure social network "Telegram".
Vaccination opponents and lateral thinkers have been gathering here for a long time to anonymously exchange conspiracy theories - including people from the district.
District
– There are now several such groups for the district on Telegram.
In most of them "only" false information is spread, and there is agitation against medicine, science, politics and the media.
In most cases anonymously, under the guise of "freedom of expression".
However, the "Corona Rebels Weilheim" go much further.
Sure, the usual content is shared here as well as in the other groups.
Long tracts claiming that the middle class should be destroyed "to make room for robots, drones and other digitization" about a police force "controlled by administrative robots".
Blurred videos of the "walks" in Weilheim are posted, but also instructions on how to behave on these "walks": Do not take cell phones with you, only cameras, in order to make it more difficult for the investigating officers to provide evidence in the event of a confiscation or impossible to do.
The group, which has 50 members, has also been promoting an illegal trade in fake vaccination cards for weeks.
The platform operator “Telegram” repeatedly asserted that such content would be quickly deleted.
In the present case, however, nothing has happened for several days.
Vaccination certificates and ID cards are advertised completely unabashedly in the group, which are intended to enable the unvaccinated to enjoy the same relaxation as fully vaccinated people.
Using and trading in fake vaccination certificates is a criminal offence
A huge list of vaccination centers is presented, from which the alleged originals are said to come.
Peißenberg is not included, so you should simply take a listed center nearby, it goes on to say.
Just to make this clear again: Anyone who uses a fake vaccination card to pretend a different vaccination status than they actually have is committing a criminal offence.
Anyone who trades in fake vaccination cards and certificates, too.
"The chat history that was sent was previously unknown.
The content is checked by the Weilheim Criminal Police Inspectorate.
If there are any indications of criminal content, further steps will be coordinated with the public prosecutor's office," said the police headquarters in Upper Bavaria South at the request of the local newspaper.
Great risk of just being ripped off
The lateral thinkers and anti-vaccination groups on Telegram are not constantly monitored, it said.
"Monitoring" by the police is only carried out on an ad hoc basis.
Investigations in social networks are generally very complex.
But anyone who thinks that the anonymity behind made-up names on Telegram, Facebook & Co. protects them from criminal prosecution is mistaken: “Of course, the anonymity that is sometimes used initially represents an obstacle, but investigations have repeatedly been carried out in the past Investigating suspects," the police headquarters said.
Quite apart from the criminal penalties that threaten anyone who trades in or uses falsified vaccination certificates, anyone who accepts such offers runs the risk of being scammed.
Because you move in the criminal milieu.
Payment is only made in advance by credit card or Bitcoin.
So getting the money back if nothing is delivered is impossible.
And the criminals who offer fake vaccination cards want to see a lot of money up front.
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