Tag: Scammers

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Health

On-line Scammers Have a New Provide for You: Vaccine Playing cards

Online Scammers Have a New Offer For You: Vaccine Cards

SAN FRANCISCO – Small rectangular notes were put up for sale on Etsy, eBay, Facebook, and Twitter in late January. They were printed on cardboard, were 3 “by 4” and had razor-sharp black lettering. Sellers listed them for $ 20 to $ 60 each, with discounts on packages of three or more. Laminated ones cost extra.

All were fakes or fake copies of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cards given to people vaccinated against Covid-19 in the United States.

“We found hundreds of online stores selling the cards, possibly thousands have sold,” said Saoud Khalifah, founder of Fakespot, which offers tools for detecting fake listings and reviews online.

The coronavirus has turned many people into opportunists, like those who hoarded bottles of hand sanitizer at the beginning of the pandemic or those who cheated recipients of their stimulus controls. Now online scammers have been sticking to the latest winning initiative: the little white cards that provide proof of shots.

Online stores selling counterfeit or stolen vaccination cards have skyrocketed in recent weeks, Khalifah said. The efforts are far from hidden, as Facebook pages with the name “Vax cards” and eBay offers with “blank vaccination cards” are openly haggling over the items.

Selling counterfeit vaccination cards could violate federal laws that prohibit copying of the CDC logo, legal experts said. If the cards were stolen and filled in with incorrect numbers and dates, they could also break identity theft laws, they said.

But the profiteers have made progress as the demand for cards from anti-vaccine activists and other groups has increased. Airlines and other companies recently stated that they may need proof of Covid-19 immunization so that people can travel or attend events safely.

The cards can also be central to “vaccination records” that provide digital proof of vaccination. Some technology companies that develop vaccination records require users to upload copies of their CDC cards. Los Angeles recently started using the CDC cards for its own digital vaccination record.

Last week, 45 attorneys general joined forces to call Twitter, Shopify, and eBay to stop selling counterfeit and stolen vaccination cards. Officials said they were monitoring the activity and feared that unvaccinated people would misuse the cards to attend major events, potentially spreading the virus and prolonging the pandemic.

“We’re seeing a huge market for these fake cards online,” said Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania attorney general, whose office has been investigating fraud related to the virus. “This is a dangerous practice that undermines public health.”

Updated

April 8, 2021, 9:44 p.m. ET

The CDC said it was “aware of fraud related to counterfeit Covid-19 vaccination cards.” It urged people not to share pictures of their personal information or vaccination cards on social media.

Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Shopify, and Etsy said that selling counterfeit vaccination cards is against their rules and that they are removing posts promoting the items.

The CDC introduced vaccination cards in December, describing them as the “easiest” way to keep an eye on Covid-19 shots. Counterfeit vaccination card sales increased in January, Khalifah said. Many people found the cards to be easy to forge from samples available online. Authentic cards have also been stolen from their workplaces by pharmacists and put up for sale, he said.

Many people who bought the tickets were against the Covid-19 vaccines, Khalifah said. In some anti-vaccine groups on Facebook, people have publicly boasted of getting the cards.

“My body is my choice,” one commenter wrote in a Facebook post last month. Another person replied, “Cant wait to get mine too lol.”

Other shoppers want to use the cards to trick pharmacists into giving them a vaccine, Khalifah said. Because some vaccines are two-shot vaccines, people can enter the wrong date on the card for a first vaccination, giving the impression that they will need a second dose soon. Some pharmacies and state vaccination centers have given priority to people due for their second shots.

An Etsy seller who refused to be identified said she recently sold dozens of counterfeit vaccine cards for $ 20 each. She justified her actions by saying that she was helping people avoid a “tyrannical government”. She added that she did not plan to be vaccinated.

Vaccine advocates say they have been troubled by the distribution of counterfeit and stolen cards. To hold these people accountable, Savannah Sparks, a pharmacist in Biloxi, Miss., Began posting videos on TikTok last month identifying sellers of counterfeit vaccine cards.

In a video, Ms. Sparks explained how she tracked the name of a pharmacy technician in Illinois who snapped up several cards for himself and her husband and then posted them online about them. The pharmacy technician had not disclosed her identity, but rather linked the post to her social media accounts, in which she used her real name. The video has 1.2 million views.

“It made me so angry that a pharmacist would use her access and position this way,” said Ms. Sparks. The video caught the attention of the Illinois Pharmacists Association, which reported the video to a state board for further investigation.

Ms. Sparks said her work attracted critics and anti-vaccination campaigners, who threatened her and put her home phone number and address online. But she was not deterred.

“You should come first and work to ensure that people get vaccinated,” she said of pharmacists. “Instead, they are trying to use their positions to spread fear and help people circumvent the vaccine.”

Pennsylvania attorney general Mr Shapiro said that selling counterfeit and stolen cards is not only against federal copyright law, but it is most likely against civil and consumer protection laws that require an item to be used as advertised. The cards could also violate state impersonation laws, he said.

“We want them to stop immediately,” Shapiro said of the scammers. “And we want companies to take serious and immediate action.”

Categories
Health

On-line Scammers Have a New Supply For You: Vaccine Playing cards

Online Scammers Have a New Offer For You: Vaccine Cards

SAN FRANCISCO – Small rectangular notes were put up for sale on Etsy, eBay, Facebook, and Twitter in late January. They were printed on cardboard, three inches by four inches, with razor-sharp black lettering. Sellers listed them for $ 20 to $ 60 each, with discounts on packages of three or more. Laminated ones cost extra.

All were fakes or fake copies of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccination cards given to people vaccinated against Covid-19 in the United States.

“We found hundreds of online stores selling the cards, possibly thousands have sold,” said Saoud Khalifah, founder of FakeSpot, which offers tools for detecting fake listings and reviews online.

The coronavirus has turned many people into opportunists, like those who hoarded bottles of hand sanitizer at the beginning of the pandemic or those who cheated recipients of their stimulus controls. Now online scammers have taken up the latest profit initiative: the little white cards that provide proof of shots.

Online stores selling counterfeit or stolen vaccination cards have skyrocketed in recent weeks, Khalifah said. The efforts are far from hidden, as Facebook pages with the name “Vax cards” and eBay offers with “blank vaccination cards” are openly haggling over the items.

Selling counterfeit vaccination cards could violate federal laws that prohibit copying of the CDC logo, legal experts said. If the cards were stolen and filled in with incorrect numbers and dates, they could also break identity theft laws, they said.

But the profiteers have made progress as the demand for cards from anti-vaccine activists and other groups has increased. Airlines and other companies recently stated that they may need proof of Covid-19 immunization so that people can travel or attend events safely.

The cards can also be central to “vaccination records” that provide digital proof of vaccination. Some technology companies that develop vaccination records require users to upload copies of their CDC cards. Los Angeles recently started using the CDC cards for its own digital vaccination record.

Last week, 45 attorneys general joined forces to call Twitter, Shopify, and eBay to stop selling counterfeit and stolen vaccination cards. Officials said they were monitoring the activity and feared that unvaccinated people would misuse the cards to attend major events, potentially spreading the virus and prolonging the pandemic.

“We’re seeing a huge market for these fake cards online,” said Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania attorney general, whose office has been investigating fraud related to the virus. “This is a dangerous practice that undermines public health.”

Updated

April 8, 2021, 5:27 p.m. ET

The CDC said it was “aware of fraud related to counterfeit Covid-19 vaccination cards.” It urged people not to share pictures of their personal information or vaccination cards on social media.

Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Shopify, and Etsy said that selling counterfeit vaccination cards is against their rules and that they are removing posts promoting the items.

The CDC introduced vaccination cards in December, describing them as the “easiest” way to keep an eye on Covid-19 shots. Counterfeit vaccination card sales increased in January, Khalifah said. Many people found the cards to be easy to forge from samples available online. Authentic cards have also been stolen from their workplaces by pharmacists and put up for sale, he said.

Many people who bought the tickets were against the Covid-19 vaccines, Khalifah said. In some anti-vaccine groups on Facebook, people have publicly boasted of getting the cards.

“My body is my choice,” one commenter wrote in a Facebook post last month. Another person replied, “Cant wait to get mine, lol.”

Other shoppers want to use the cards to trick pharmacists into giving them a vaccine, Khalifah said. Because some vaccines are two-shot vaccines, people can enter the wrong date on the card for a first vaccination, giving the impression that they will need a second dose soon. Some pharmacies and state vaccination centers have given people priority based on their second shots.

An Etsy seller who refused to be identified said she recently sold dozens of counterfeit vaccine cards for $ 20 each. She justified her actions by saying that she was helping people avoid a “tyrannical government”. She added that she did not plan to be vaccinated.

Vaccine advocates say they have been troubled by the distribution of counterfeit and stolen cards. To hold these people accountable, Savannah Sparks, a pharmacist in Biloxi, Miss., Began posting videos on TikTok last month identifying sellers of counterfeit vaccine cards.

In a video, Ms. Sparks explained how she tracked the name of a pharmacy technician in Illinois who snapped up several cards for himself and her husband and then posted them online about them. The pharmacy technician had not disclosed her identity, but rather linked the post to her social media accounts, in which she used her real name. The video has 1.2 million views.

“It made me so angry that a pharmacist would use her access and position this way,” said Ms. Sparks. The video drew the attention of the Illinois Pharmacists Association, which reported the video to a state board for further investigation.

Ms. Sparks said her work attracted critics and anti-vaccination campaigners, who threatened her and put her home phone number and address online. But she was not deterred.

“You should come first and work to ensure that people get vaccinated,” she said of pharmacists. “Instead, they are trying to use their positions to spread fear and help people circumvent the vaccine.”

Pennsylvania attorney general Mr Shapiro said that selling counterfeit and stolen cards is not only against federal copyright law, but it is most likely against civil and consumer protection laws that require an item to be used as advertised. The cards could also violate state impersonation laws, he said.

“We want them to stop immediately,” Shapiro said of the scammers. “And we want companies to take serious and immediate action.”

Categories
Health

3M helps authorities cease scammers from promoting pretend N95 masks

3M is helping authorities stop scammers from selling fake N95 masks

Industrial giant 3M has been working with law enforcement agencies around the clock to stop the sale of millions of counterfeit versions of its N95 mask.

“We have taken very strong steps to address counterfeiting or pricing issues. We have done so over the last year in this limited supply and very high demand for critical products like the N95,” said Mike Vale, 3M Security Officer heads and Industry Business Group, said CNBC.

N95 were the gold standard during the coronavirus pandemic for their ability to filter out at least 95% of airborne particles. The masks, which are seen as critical for protecting frontline workers from Covid-19, were in short supply. 3M is the largest N95 manufacturer.

Federal agencies announced Wednesday that fraudsters had distributed millions of counterfeit N95s to healthcare workers in at least five states. To date, 3M has reported 11,000 cases of counterfeit masks, leading to 29 civil lawsuits. In total, the company said it had confiscated 10 million counterfeit N95s. In mid-January, 3M helped its home state of Minnesota avoid purchasing nearly 500,000 counterfeit N95s from a Florida company. 3M sued and won an injunction.

The news of the federal investigation into the counterfeit N95 comes after several hospitals in Washington state found their shipment of the masks contained counterfeit masks.

“It’s a breathtaking feeling … just to think that there are people … making the counterfeit personal protective equipment we need so badly right now during this pandemic,” Cassie Sauer, president of the Washington State Hospital Association, told NBC News earlier this week.

3M helped officials in Washington confirm that the counterfeit masks were purchased from an unauthorized dealer unrelated to the company. 3M advises that hospitals and medical clinics must verify that they are purchasing respiratory protective equipment from a verified, authorized dealer. One way to do this is to check the company’s website or call the anti-fraud hotline.

Despite concerted efforts to eliminate and hold fraudsters accountable, false masks continue to emerge in the US and worldwide. “Counterfeit N95s pose a serious health risk and I think 3M has been reasonably aggressive to get them off the streets. However, it’s a get rid of each other game,” said Scott Davis, CEO of Melius Research, who followed the development of 3M for several years.

In terms of manufacturing, 3M manufactures more than 95 million respirators monthly at its US facilities in South Dakota and Nebraska. By scaling production and hiring hundreds of additional employees, including 300 at its South Dakota facility, the company quadrupled production last year.

However, a number of doctors who spoke to CNBC said they are still rationing masks.

“Obtaining enough N95 to keep health workers safe and secure, especially for the smaller hospitals and health facilities, is an unresolved challenge. When we have to negotiate counterfeit products, it is even more difficult and impossible to get adequate protection for our front line to ensure.” said Dr. Natasha Anushri Anandaraja, who founded Covid Courage, a New York nonprofit that helps healthcare workers gain access to PPE, including N95 and reusable masks.

Because of the limited supply, Anandaraja says more and more healthcare professionals are choosing reusable options. “By providing each health worker with a unique reusable mask, the constant battle to find legitimate disposable masks is eliminated, and the need for health workers to reuse masks that were intended for single use, and in hundreds of health systems rescued.” of thousands of dollars a year. “

Categories
Health

Is Your Vaccine Card Selfie a Reward for Scammers? Perhaps

Is Your Vaccine Card Selfie a Gift for Scammers? Maybe

So you finally got a Covid-19 vaccine. It’s easy to take a photo of your vaccination card with your name and date of birth and the vaccine you had and post it on social media.

However, some experts warn that the information in the festive photo could expose you to identity theft or fraud.

“Unfortunately, your card has your full name and birthday and information about where you got your vaccine from,” the Better Business Bureau said last week. “If your social media privacy settings are not set high, you may be sharing valuable information that anyone can use.”

On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission followed suit: “You post a photo of your vaccination card on social media. Please – don’t do that! “it bluntly warned.” You could invite identity theft. “

Fraudsters can sometimes find out most of the digits of your Social Security number by knowing your date and place of birth. You can open new accounts on your behalf, claim your tax refund for yourself, and get involved in other identity thefts, said Maneesha Mithal, assistant director of the Federal Trade Commission’s privacy and identity protection division.

“Identity theft is like a puzzle made up of personal information,” said Ms. Mithal. “You don’t want to give identity thieves the parts they need to complete the picture. One of these pieces is your date of birth. “

But even if experts warn against giving your card away, chances are the information you are giving up has already been made available in other ways if you recorded your birthday elsewhere online – which most people likely have.

Avivah Litan, a senior analyst at research firm Gartner, said many Americans are vulnerable to multiple data breaches.

“Basically, the criminals already have pretty much every last name, first name and date of birth,” said Ms. Litan. “There have been so many hacks in the last 10 years. If you’re just looking for my name and birthday, you have it. “

Scammers and identity thieves often gradually collect information and clean up social media posts to create a file on a person’s life, including education, employment, and vacation spots. Publishing a date of birth will give you one of your most important personal tidbits.

While a name and date of birth aren’t all an identity thief would need in most cases to steal your identity, it makes it easier to reveal those details.

“Scammers are looking for personal identification information they can get from you – any kind of information to create a profile,” said Curtis W. Dukes, executive vice president of the Center for Internet Security.

A scammer could take advantage of fear of vaccine shortages or a slow distribution process by disguising himself as a government official claiming to need a credit card number to reserve a different dose or booster, Dukes said.

In such a “charged” atmosphere of bottlenecks, people could “fall for it and give up their credit cards or other information,” he said.

Ms. Litan said, “At least it will give bad actors a go-ahead to know who has been vaccinated. So you can use it for fraud purposes, to socially construct me and pay them for a booster shot that I will never get, or for valid commercial purposes that bypass normal US regulatory structures. “

Luscious teenagers post pictures of their driver’s licenses or study permits. Vacationers publish photos of their trips.

The vaccination cards are now another way to “share these milestones in our lives,” said Nita A. Farahany, professor of law and philosophy at Duke University School of Law.

However, she said one concern is that if vaccination status acts as a commodity that gives people access to workplaces, restaurants or events, the cards could be forged or replicated.

Someone who has not yet been vaccinated or does not wish to be vaccinated might “be tempted to forge a copy of these photos,” she said. “Or why wouldn’t a corporate scammer use the photos to create fakes to be sold to whoever they want?”

The Better Business Bureau in its warning cited newspaper reports in the UK that counterfeit vaccination cards were bought on eBay for about $ 6.

When asked about the reports, eBay said in a statement sent via email that it blocked and removed items that made false health claims.

A published vaccination card could also be the springboard for sophisticated social engineering or phishing ideas. Such programs were common during the pandemic.

Stacey Wood, a professor of psychology at Scripps College who has counseled older adults who are victims of fraud, cited what is known as grandparent fraud, in which a person posing as a law enforcement officer contacted an older adult and pretended to give them details about their grandchildren and to say they were in trouble and needed financial help.

“The typical consumer wouldn’t believe that scammers curated information about my life and used it to target me,” she said. “There’s so much going on in my practice right now and it’s just going to be a new thing.”

Cassie Christensen, a consultant at SecZetta who works with organizations to manage identity risk, said people who had their vaccination card issued could open themselves to a scammer posing as an officer trying to verify their identity to get them across inform medical concerns example, suspected new side effects.

The scam could include requests for more information to help them gain access to someone’s accounts, such as a mother’s maiden name or an address.

“You can also go to LinkedIn and find out where you work,” she said. “You can call these organizations and do a legitimate password reset.”

The pandemic and its fears would have created the perfect environment for it.

“It’s all very emotional stuff,” she said. “This is what hackers and phishers are looking for.”

With the distribution of vaccines unevenly, the maps have become a boastful point. Some use it on their dating profiles. Others are just excited to post good news after such a bad year.

“Some post it to say, ‘Look, I got it,” said Duke’s Dr. Farahany.

But what if there was another way of saying that? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe it is. As part of his campaign to build confidence in the vaccines, sticker templates were created and many states, including Wisconsin, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, New York, and Maryland, are distributing versions of them.

Public health officials are betting on the widespread use of stickers to impact people who may be afraid, indifferent to, or simply against vaccines. The stickers could contribute to so-called “social cascades” of behavior, similar to the way the “I voted” stickers promote voting, experts say.

“It helps encourage similar behavior in other people who may be watching,” said Dr. Tara Kirk Sell, a senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “It’s really about telling others, ‘This is completely normal and that’s what people do.'”

The same behavior occurs when masks are used frequently, making more people feel less out of place wearing one. “We call this ‘social proof,'” said Dr. Wood. “Like, ‘I’ve done my patriotic duty, I’ve done my civic duty.'”

Stickers also don’t reveal personal information, another reason officials promote their use.

In Georgia, Attorney General Chris Carr this week urged people to show vaccination stickers and said he could “not stop them enough from posting their vaccination cards on social media” due to the risk of identity theft.

Also, “the stickers are really cool,” the FTC said on Friday.

Categories
World News

Is Your Vaccine Card Selfie a Reward for Scammers? Possibly.

Is Your Vaccine Card Selfie a Gift for Scammers? Maybe.

So you finally got a Covid-19 vaccine. It’s easy to take a photo of your vaccination card with your name and date of birth and the vaccine you had and post it on social media.

However, some experts warn that the information in the festive photo could expose you to identity theft or fraud.

“Unfortunately, your card has your full name and birthday and information about where you got your vaccine from,” the Better Business Bureau said last week. “If your social media privacy settings are not set high, you may be sharing valuable information that anyone can use.”

On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission followed suit: “You post a photo of your vaccination card on social media. Please – don’t do that! “it bluntly warned.” You could invite identity theft. “

Fraudsters can sometimes find out most of the digits of your Social Security number by knowing your date and place of birth. You can open new accounts on your behalf, claim your tax refund for yourself, and get involved in other identity thefts, said Maneesha Mithal, assistant director of the Federal Trade Commission’s privacy and identity protection division.

“Identity theft is like a puzzle made up of personal information,” said Ms. Mithal. “You don’t want to give identity thieves the parts they need to complete the picture. One of these pieces is your date of birth. “