Fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates for sale in Mexico

First, there werefakevaccines. Now bogus coronavirus immunisationcertificatesare being offered forsalein the Mexican capital, aimed at people travelling to countries that require proof of inoculation.

In an area of the historic district known for its printers and counterfeiters, a new service has appeared alongside documents purporting to be birthcertificates, driver's licenses and passports.

Customers for thefakeCOVID-19vaccinationcertificatesare usually people who want to travel but have not been fully immunised, or who received vaccines not recognized in the country they plan to visit, a vendor said.

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"If they were vaccinated with the Chinese shots, here we change it for Pfizer or Sputnik V," said the man, who gave his name as Cris.

Undeterred by the presence of police officers nearby, he told potential customers the price ranged from 1,100 to 2,000 Mexican pesos ($55-100), according to an AFP reporter.

"In two hours you'll have the document," he added, his face partly concealed by a face mask, as he worked in the Santo Domingo district.

Mexico's health ministry recently announced that people who have been vaccinated can download an immunisation certificate for free through an official website to use when travelling or in other situations.

Around 21 million people have been fully vaccinated inMexico, a country of 126 million, which has used Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Cansino, Sputnik V and Johnson & Johnson shots.

The officialcertificateshave a QR code that redirects whoever scans it to a government page that confirms the holder is fully immunised.

The counterfeiters offer to tamper with that code, but whether it actually works is unclear.

To cheat the system would require a certain level of technological know-how so that the person checking the certificate is redirected to afakegovernment website said cybersecurity specialist Carlos Ramirez.

In theory, he said, it would be possible to load each QR with the data requested by customers -- a challenging but not impossible task for cybercriminals.

The Mexican health ministry did not respond to a request for information about its digital security protocols and what measures it plans in response to the counterfeits.

It is not the first fraudulent activity linked to the pandemic inMexico, where Pfizer said in Aprilfakevaccines had been found forsaleunder its brand name.

In Santo Domingo, forged laboratory tests with a negativeCOVID-19 result are also onsalefor about $30.

The falsification of official documents carries a prison sentence of four to eight years inMexico, whose official coronavirus death toll of more than 235,000 is the world's fourth-highest.