Hundreds of fake QR codes for a digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate in Germany were allegedly created by a Munich pharmacy employee and his accomplice and sold online, BTA reports citing DPA.
On Friday, authorities ransacked a pharmacy in Munich and several houses. The woman and another suspect were detained, investigators from the Bavarian central office for combating fraud and corruption in the health care system (ZKG) said on Saturday.
Fake codes have been on sale in the German-language online cybercrime forum since mid-August. Recently, the price at which buyers could buy a digital certificate without vaccination was 350 euros.
It is estimated that in October alone, counterfeiters issued more than 500 certificates.
During the search, authorities confiscated nearly € 100,000 in cash and cryptocurrency. A fake certificate was found in another EU member state, but it is believed that many certificates are likely circulating in Germany.
The buyers’ names cannot be identified, officials said. It is currently unknown if any other method can be used to remove or revoke fake certificates.
The counterfeiters allegedly used the IT infrastructure of a pharmacy in Munich. The pharmacist himself is not suspected of being involved in the scheme, investigators say.