Fake green passes sold on the dark web, traffic discovered

Green pass, on the day of the entry into force of the European vaccination certification essential to be able to return to travel freely, as part of an investigation by the IV Department (Fraud and Consumer Protection-Cybercrime) of the Milan prosecutor’s office, the financiers of the Nucleus Special Protection of Privacy and Technological Fraud have brought to an end an important operation to combat the illicit marketing of anti-covid-19 vaccine vials and vaccine certificates. The investigation was coordinated by the deputy prosecutor Eugenio Fusco and directed by the deputy prosecutors Bianca Maria Baj Macario and Maura Ripamonti. With the operation, the Gdf has unhinged a parallel market for counterfeit vaccines and ‘Green Pass’. The latest generation Bot and Avatar investigation tools, combined with an innovative and dynamic “real time” monitoring of the network by the military of the Guardia di Finanza, made it possible to identify and seize 10 Telegram channels and accounts, which to anonymous accounts on specific Marketplaces in the Dark-Web, through which it was possible to interface with the seller and proceed with the purchase after completing the payment strictly in cryptocurrencies. The new criminal business focused above all on the sale of counterfeit ‘Green Pass’ , bearing false identification data of the vaccine, the relative Qr Code, specially generated, as well as the number that distinguishes the batch of origin of the first and second dose of vaccine. According to what was deceptively reported by cyber-criminals, the fake Green Passes were also deliverable to those residing in non-EU countries (United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland) .Thousands of network users, even in the face of unreasonable prices and very high risks for health, registered on the illegal channels in search of vaccines and “Green Pass”, attracted by the photos of the vials and certificates and by the opportunity to purchase all-inclusive packages, whose price ranged from 110 to 130 euros, with a guarantee of anonymity, shipment traceability, refrigerated temperature packaging, certification of vaccine administration.