WARNING: Beware of Phony Vaccine Cards

The District Attorney’s Office is warning the public about reports of advertisements on social media sites, such as Instagram, offering fake vaccination cards. This is a crime and anyone dealing in phony vaccination cards can be prosecuted with forging a seal or false personation of an official.

Vaccine record cards are intended to provide recipients of the COVID-19 vaccine with information about the type of vaccine they received, whether and when they need a second dose, and to provide to their primary health physicians to maintain accurate records. COVID-19 vaccine cards contain official U.S. government seals and unauthorized duplication of these seals is illegal in California, as well as a violation of federal criminal law.

In addition to putting yourself and others around you at risk of contracting COVID-19, you may be prosecuted for fraud. If you did receive the vaccine, do not post photos of your vaccine card to social media websites; your personal information could be stolen to commit fraud.

To report suspicious activity involving fake vaccination record cards, please contact the appropriate government agency in your state or jurisdiction, HHS-OIG (1-800-HHS-TIPS or www.oig.hhs.gov); or the Internet Crime Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov).