PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers in Philadelphia discovered a fake COVID-19 vaccination card while conducting routine international baggage inspections, the CBP said Friday.
The card is one of more than 30,000 counterfeit cards discovered and confiscated since the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, customs agents say.
Officers said they "immediately noted" the poor quality of the card; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Health and Human Services logos were unclear, and the borders were uneven.
A greeting card concealed the card, which was inside a shipping envelope headed for an address in Stamford, Connecticut from Bulgaria.
Officers who found this fake vaccine card are part of the Baltimore Field Office for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Altogether, that office has uncovered a total of 1,520 counterfeit cards from 41 different seizures.
Philadelphia CBP representatives remind the public that buys, sells or uses a fake vaccine card is breaking the law. Plus, a press release from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection regarding the incident noted that "while fake vaccination cards are selling for as much as $200, the CDC reminds people that an actual vaccination is free."
