If the cards were stolen and filled out with false numbers and dates, they could also violate identity theft laws, they said.
Last week, 45 state attorneys general banded together to call on Twitter, Shopify and eBay to stop the sale of false and stolen vaccine cards.The officials said they were monitoring the activity and were concerned that unvaccinated people would misuse the cards to attend large events, potentially spreading the virus and prolonging the pandemic.
“We’re seeing a huge market for these false cards online,†said Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s attorney general, whose office has investigated fraud related to the virus.said it was “aware of cases of fraud regarding counterfeit Covid-19 vaccine cards.†It asked people not to share images of their personal information or vaccine cards on social media.
Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Shopify and Etsy said that the sale of fake vaccine cards violated their rules and that they were removing posts that advertised the items.Authentic cards were also stolen by pharmacists from their workplaces and put up for sale, he said.
In some anti-vaccine groups on Facebook, people have publicly boasted about getting the cards.
One Etsy seller, who declined to be identified, said she had sold dozens of fake vaccine cards for $20 each recently.Shapiro, the Pennsylvania attorney general, said in addition to violating federal copyright laws, the sale of counterfeit and stolen cards most likely broke civil and consumer protection laws that mandate that an item can be used as advertised