LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called on Twitter, eBay, and Shopify to act immediately to prevent people from offering to sell fraudulent Centers for Disease Control (CDC) vaccination cards on their platforms. A bipartisan coalition of 45 attorneys general raised concerns about the public health risks of these fake cards in a letter to the companies’ CEOs.
"These cards look legitimate but are anything but. By selling these fake vaccine cards, bad actors are undermining the public safety and prolonging this pandemic,” Nessel said. “My colleagues and I are urging Twitter, eBay, and Shopify to help prevent the sale of these phony cards and protect the public health.”
Legitimate vaccination cards are given by providers when the vaccine is administered. People who buy fake cards can have their own information added to the card or add it in themselves, so it appears they have been vaccinated when they have not. These deceptive cards threaten the health of our communities, slow progress in getting people protected from the virus, and violate many state laws.
In their letter, the attorneys general ask the CEOs to:
- Monitor their platforms for ads or links selling blank or fraudulently-completed vaccination cards.
- Promptly remove ads or links that are selling cards.
- Preserve records and information about the ads and the people offering the fake vaccination cards.
Joining Attorney General Nessel in sending this letter are the attorneys general of Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
A copy of the letter is available here.
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