Last week, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody called on eBay, Shopify and Twitter to act immediately to prevent scammers from selling fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination cards on their platforms.
Moody was joined by a bipartisan coalition of 44 other attorneys general in raising concerns about the public health risks of fake COVID-19 vaccination cards in a letter to the companies’ chief executive officers.
“As the availability of COVID-19 vaccines increases, so do the number of scammers trying to exploit this health crisis for personal gain. I am asking eBay, Shopify and Twitter to help us prevent fraud by taking action to stop the sale of fraudulent vaccination cards through their online platforms,” Moody said on Thursday.
Legitimate vaccination cards are issued to patients by health care providers upon administering the vaccine. Those who buy fake cards can fraudulently add personal information to the cards to falsely claim proof of vaccination. These deceptive cards threaten the health of our communities, slow progress in getting people protected from the virus and violate many state laws.
In the letter, the attorneys general ask the CEOs to:
- Monitor their platforms for ads or links selling blank or fraudulently completed vaccination cards;
- Promptly take down ads or links that are selling cards; and
- Preserve records and information about the ads and the people who were selling the cards.
Moody was joined in sending this letter by the attorneys general of Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Guam, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
