The background is that fake covid tests have been revealed in several different places in Europe.

Most recently at Luton Airport north of London, where a man was arrested after trying to entice travelers to buy custom certificates.

At Charles de Gaulle in Paris, the police were able to uncover a league that sold fake certificates for between 1,500 and 3,000 kronor to desperate air passengers.

The forged certificates found have names and logos from real laboratories.

"The availability of software and advanced printers allows fraudsters to produce very well-made forgeries of documents," the EU police authority Europol wrote in its warning, urging member states to be extra vigilant.

Counterfeit signatures

In the Netherlands, services such as "Airplane Doctor" and "Digital Doctor" are marketed on Snapchat and WhatsApp, reports the Guardian.

They offer negative PCR tests complete with a fake doctor's signature.

Price: about 500 kronor.

Similar crime has also been revealed in Spain.

In Sweden, which currently has no requirements for a negative covid test for entry, this type of counterfeit league has not been encountered so far.

This is what Lotta Mauritzon, crime prevention officer at the Police's National Fraud Center at Noa, says:

- Right now we have no knowledge of any Swedish points of sale because there are few travelers who are covered by the requirements for a certificate.

But if covid controls are introduced, we will certainly see this type of fraud in Sweden as well.

Swedish rapid investigation

The issue of health certificates is being investigated quickly right now, and the government has promised to provide information during the week.

This since the Swedish Public Health Agency requested it in order to slow down the mutated virus forms if possible.

In their responses to the consultation, the Coast Guard and the Swedish Migration Board are in favor of the proposal, but the police warn that it will take resources from other tasks.

The frauds that have been revealed so far in Sweden, including a doctor being arrested on suspicion of issuing forged health certificates for a fee, have been attempts to get to countries that already have requirements for negative covid tests, says Lotta Mauritzon:

- Anyone who travels with forged certificates commits the crime in the country you are trying to get to, and we only find out about this through police cooperation.

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Can "corona passes" be the salvation for the travel industry?

Photo: CommonPass / SVT