"Perfect Crime Opportunity" Pfizer Vaccine Scam 'Alert'

Pfizer Fake Vaccine Scam Exposed
Global Concerns Over Expansion of Related Crimes

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Pfizer's novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) vaccine is emerging as a target of crime. Last year, protective equipment such as masks became targets of COVID-19-related crimes, but the situation changed with the advent of vaccines.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 21st (local time) that Polish police seized multiple vials labeled as Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from a man's apartment in January and arrested him.

The liquid, presumed to be a fake vaccine, was contained in bottles believed to be from another pharmaceutical company's anti-wrinkle product, Pfizer said.

Mexican police arrested six hospital officials in early February at a hospital in northern Nuevo Leon who were administering fake Pfizer vaccines. The hospital charged about $1,000 (approximately 1.12 million KRW) per dose and administered fake vaccines to over 80 people. The fake vaccine's ingredient was distilled water.

In the United States, where vaccines are sufficiently supplied, no fake vaccines have been found yet, but in Latin American countries such as Mexico and Brazil, where supply is insufficient and demand is high, many people seek vaccines through 'unofficial channels.' The wealthy sometimes travel to the U.S. to get vaccinated.

Pfizer's global security chief, Lev Kubiak, told WSJ, "Everyone around the world needs vaccines, and many desperately want them," adding, "Currently, vaccine supply is very limited, so until supply sufficiently increases, there will be perfect opportunities for criminals." He expressed concern that "those desperate for vaccines are easily deceived," and predicted that vaccine fraud would increase.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Besides fake vaccines, various vaccine-related fraud cases are also occurring. The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (NIPRCC) under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it shut down 30 sites and seized 74 web domains related to vaccines. These were fraudulent sites pretending to sell Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to steal personal information.

Steve Francis, head of NIPRCC, said, "I have never seen so many scams and misinformation," and that they are investigating more than 35 COVID-19 vaccine-related cases.

NIPRCC and Pfizer have been holding weekly meetings since last fall to prepare against vaccine fraud and counterfeiting.

According to the International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO, Interpol), China and South Africa each seized thousands of counterfeit vaccine vials from warehouses last month and arrested dozens of related individuals.

Mexican authorities confiscated 6,000 doses of a vaccine claimed to be Russia's Sputnik on a private plane bound for Honduras but have not confirmed its authenticity.