FBI Issues Warning to Watch Out for Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Cards

Your number was called, you got your vaccine appointments, you're waiting on lines, got your shots, and now you have a pretty valuable card.

Not only does that card prove that you've been vaccinated, but it may serve as a way to get into certain events in the future. So you can see where people who didn't get or don't want to get the vaccine would like to get their hands on a card like that.

Get our free mobile app

All this has prompted the FBI to issue a special warning as they investigate a growing trend of online retailers selling cards. Cards have already showed up for sale on sites like eBay, Twitter, and Shopify, as well as posts on various sites telling people to print their own cards from home.

The FBI warning follows an earlier warning last month from the Federal Trade Commission that advised people not to post completed vaccine cards on social media. By posting it online, you are opening yourself up for identity theft. Don't forget the card contains information that hackers could use to compromise your identity.

According to patch.com, because of the growing trend in selling these cards, and the FBI warning, over two dozen attorney generals from across the country issued a letter of warning to the companies offering the cards for sale and the general public.

The false and deceptive marketing and sales of fake COVID vaccine cards threatens the health of our communities, slows progress in getting our residents protected from the virus and are a violation of the laws of many states. Multiple states' laws provide for injunctive relief, damages, penalties and other remedies for such conduct.

Not only is selling these cards a violation of federal law, but an FBI spokesperson said the fake cards are putting peoples health at risk as well.

When entering schools, mass transit, workplaces, gyms, or places of worship, you put yourself and others around you at risk of contracting COVID-19.

All of the companies that have been offering these cards online have already been flagged and have responded that selling online vaccine cards violate their terms of service agreement, meanwhile the FBI has been busy taking action that includes monitoring for any activity involving fake cards, taking down any listings or posts involving fake cards, and keeping records of those postings.