Banning unvaccinated people from entering bars and restaurants led many Australians to inoculate themselves, but it also sparked a black market for fake COVID-19 vaccine certificates.
One active site claims to sell certificates for Australia, the United States, Great Britain, and Pakistan for $ 500.
Health experts fear that false certificates put owners at risk and could lead to outbreaks and complicate contact tracing.
It is difficult to quantify the false documents in circulation, but a Telegram channel promoting fraudulent certificates in Australia has more than 64,000 members.
"You get them pretty easy on the dark web," said Vince Hurley, a retired detective who teaches criminology at Macquarie University.
Despite the risk of up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to US $ 7,400, some Australians have bought fake certificates or made them themselves.
The Australian Federal Police are aware of the problem and have promised to "maintain the integrity of vaccination against covid-19," a spokesperson said. To address the issue, authorities began remaking the first vaccination passports with digital holograms, QR codes, and other anti-counterfeiting methods.
But according to Hurley, there is a "law of diminishing returns" in black market surveillance, which forces security forces to have "dedicated police officers standing at a desk to monitor the network."
The daily control of the certificates is in the hands of the establishments, which by law must review the condition of each person they admit.
Anthony Hammond, who owns two Melbourne bars, says the industry is stumbling on it to control the certificates. His business staff have had to sift through a diverse range of certificates on apps, smartphones, wallets, and paper copies.
