TL;DR Breakdown
- Scammers sell fake COVID-19 health pass for crypto payments.
- Scammers are also selling fake COVID-19 vaccine certificates on DarkNet.
Police in Italy have busted several illegal fraudsters who sold fake COVID-19 health passes on Telegram channels for payment in cryptocurrencies.
A total of 32 Telegram groups were said to have offered fake COVID-19 health passes to thousands of unsuspecting people who preferred crypto payments for the illegal service.
Reuters report that many of the people who patronized the scammers wanted to bypass the law and get the certificates in exchange for cryptocurrencies.
The fake COVID-19 health pass is a necessary ticket for Italians who have received full dose or at least the first dose of vaccination, or have tested negative to the virus to go to cinemas, gyms, museums, restaurants and socialize generally.
Also, the scammers who sold the illegal COVID-19 health pass did not have a fixed price for the illicit service. It sold for around 500 euros ($588). However, the type of cryptocurrency the scammers accepted was not revealed by the police.
Italy remains one of the most hit countries by the COVID-19 virus, especially during the first wave. The European country recorded nearly 130,000 people passed away due to the virus.
The scammers have also created a problem for Italy as around 20 million people have downloaded the Green Pass, but it remains a mystery if they were all legally acquired or part of the fake ones.
Vaccine certificate also sold on Darknet
Scammers are doing the COVID-19 business all around as fake certificates of inoculations are also available for sale on the Darknet.
Back in July, Darkweb users were offering vaccination passports and even stolen doses of COVID-19 vaccines. They enjoy being paid in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Monero (XMR) the most.
Analytical firms confirmed that scammers preferred those coins owing to its anonymity and the global platform to receive payment it provides.
The scam was so widespread that besides popular vaccines such as Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson, one could even purchase Sputnik V’s Russian product.
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