GREENSBORO, N.C. — North Carolina is leading the fight against fake CDC vaccination cards for sale online. State Attorney General Josh Stein and the Tennessee AG rallied their counterparts----45 total Attorneys General signed this letter.
The document calls on the CEOs of Twitter, eBay, and Shopify and asks them to take immediate action to monitor their platforms for the fake cards, to promptly take the ads down, and to preserve records about the ads so the states can take action against the sellers.
In their 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.
- Preserve records and information about the ads and the people who were selling them.
2 Wants To Know talked to NC AG Stein on March 22, 2021, about the issue after we found one site after another offering blank and forgeable COVID vaccine cards.
Stein told us sellers could face a fine of $5,000 per violation.
"If anyone out there sees anyone on the internet selling one of these cards, let my office know because it's a violation of state law. It would be deceptive. You cannot sell a card purporting to be from the CDC if you are not the CDC,” said Stein.
Stein says these fake vaccine cards put us all at risk and the people who buy these cards are prolonging measures most of us wish would go away. Check out the NC DOJ scam protection page.
AG's who signed the letter: Attorney General Stein and Attorney General Slatery are joined in sending this letter by the Attorneys General of Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming