Inside Edition responded to the ad and met up with the man in a Home Depot parking lot in Texas. He said he has been getting the cards from a relative who works at a local hospital. The ad has since been taken down.
As more places require proof of vaccination against the coronavirus, the market for counterfeit and stolen CDC-issued COVID-19 vaccine cards is on fire.
In Memphis, investigators seized more than 3,000 counterfeit vaccination cards.
A father and son traveling to Hawaii were arrested after authorities say they tried to use counterfeit vaccination cards to avoid the state’s mandatory quarantine for unvaccinated travelers.
Inside Edition found vaccination cards for sale online. On Craigslist, counterfeit cards are selling for $70. Another ad on eBay says “vaccination cards for all who needs them for work or travel.”
So who’s behind the ad? Investigative producer Josh Bernstein met the man in a Home Depot parking lot just outside Dallas, Texas.
The cards he was selling looked official, with "COVID-19 Vaccination Record” labeled on the top. A CDC logo was also emblazoned on the top corner.
The man was selling the cards at $300 for five and claimed to be selling around 60 per week. He said he got them from a relative who works at a local hospital.
Bernstein then revealed he was actually a producer with Inside Edition and asked the seller if he realized what he was doing was illegal.
“I just recently found out,” the man said.
Dr. William Schaffner, leading infectious disease expert, was shocked by what we found.
“It’s very sad and very distressing...Not only are these people fraudulently vaccinated, but the cards themselves have been stolen from a healthcare facility," he said.
“And I'm really not only disturbed about that, I'm very angry,” Schaffner continued.
The vaccine card ad we responded to has been taken down by eBay.
