Scammers Are Tricking Anti-Vaxxers Into Buying Bogus Medical Documents

Wired On Telegram, scammers are impersonating doctors to sell fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates and other products, showing how criminals are taking advantage of conspiracy theories. Kristina Collins didn’t know her photo was being used on Telegram. Over the past few months, an Instagram picture of Collins, a Texas-based doctor and dermatologist, has been used by scammers on the chat app to try to persuade people to buy false proof that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and other diseases. “The last thing you want as a physician is for your identity to be used to promote misinformation,” Collins tells WIRED, adding that many doctors use social media specifically to make sure people have access to accurate health information. “When people are able to take that likeness and use it for bad purposes, whether it’s fraud, whether it’s misinformation, I think it’s really scary.” The Telegram channel impersonating Collins wasn’t alone. Researchers at Logically, a UK-based disinformation detection company, have uncovered a network of around 60 Telegram channels selling Covid-19 vaccination certificates and other proof of vaccination documents, and claiming to sell various medicines. In 25 of the channels, administrators used a “Dr.” prefix in their username, with 13 of the channels using the real-world names and/or photographs of legitimate medical professionals.