Italy: police dismantle a network of trafficking in fake health passes
An Italian presents her “Green pass” to enter a gym in Rome on August 6, 2021. AP - Cecilia Fabiano
Text by: Anne Le Nir Follow
3 min
An operation of the postal and telecommunications police, called "Fake Pass", made it possible to dismantle a network on Telegram of counterfeit health passes, while the precious sesame has been compulsory since August 6 to access places of leisure and culture but also in the interior rooms of bars and restaurants.
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From our correspondent in Rome,
Counterfeiters did not wait long to seize a new opportunity: the famous “Green pass”, the name given by the Italians to the health pass. And there, it is
Telegram
which is implied in this traffic. As the precious sesame is now mandatory in many situations, thousands of antivax, or people who have not yet managed to get vaccinated against Covid-19 have used the messaging application to get in touch, through some thirty discussion channels, with sellers of fake passes.
According to the postal and communications police, which is carrying out the investigation in collaboration with the prosecutors of Milan, Rome and Bari, to obtain an illegal document, Telegram users had to send sellers a photocopy of their identity card and their card number. health, the equivalent of the vital card in France.
Then, in exchange for the pass with a QR code, they had to pay between 150 and 500 euros.
Anonymity is guaranteed thanks to payment in crypto currency or with vouchers for e-commerce sites.
Investigators have already identified, and indicted for forgery and fraud, four individuals, including two minors, involved in this traffic on Telegram.
Counterfeit passes that are difficult to use
These certificates with fake QR code could work under certain circumstances.
For example, many restaurant managers, who don't want to lose customers, just ask to see the pass without any verification.
But according to cybersecurity experts, it is difficult to use a pass with a fake QR code because legal passes are issued, under the control of the Ministry of Health, with a computer-generated QR code that certifies their authenticity.
In addition, an application makes it possible to compare the information contained in this QR code with the national database of vaccinated persons.
And if holders of counterfeit passes are identified, they risk criminal prosecution.
The game is therefore really not worth the candle.
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