▷Fake health pass, covid test: thousands of Internet users are looking for false certificates on Google 🥇

Google searches for terms like “false Health Pass”, “false covid test” or “false vaccine” have multiplied since Emmanuel Macron's speech. Thousands of Internet users are obviously seeking to obtain false certificates on the web.

This Monday, July 12, 2021, Emmanuel Macron announced a tightening of measures against the Covid-19 pandemic. The president especially detailed the extended implementation of the Health Pass. This pass will be compulsory to go to “places of leisure and culture” bringing together more than 50 people from July 21, 2021.

The speech first provoked renewed interest in vaccination. In the space of a few hours, more than 900.000 of the country people made their appointment to be vaccinated on the Doctolib platform. The trend continued the next day, leading to the momentary saturation of the platform.

The smuggling of fake health passes and PCR tests is growing

At the same time, many of the country people opposed to vaccination went to Google to the search for false attestations. As the SEMRush referencing tool shows, Google searches for the terms "fake vaccine", "fake health pass" and "false PCR test" exploded just after the speech of the President of the Republic.

Before the speech at the Elysee Palace, searches for the term "false attestation" did not exceed 600. In the hours following the speech, searches soared to 4000. On social networks, including Twitter or Snapchat, many Internet users are surfing the trend and offering fake Health Pass and fake PCR test at exorbitant prices.

However, the smuggling of false vaccination passports and faked negative tests is not new. For several months, counterfeiters have been offering fake documents on dark web black markets. If most of the ads are scams aiming to take advantage of the credulity of Internet users, there are however real fake attestations on the deep web.

In some cases, they are pharmacists or health professionals looking to make ends meet. On messaging applications like Telegram, contraband has also developed since the containment measures. For several hundred euros, it is possible to get hold of a fully functional fake sanitary pass. Please note, the penalty for producing or using a false document is three years in prison and a fine of 45 euros.

Evolution of Google searches for "fake vaccine", "fake health pass" and "fake PCR test" following yesterday's speech. # Macron20h pic.twitter.com/qRlmljcnLz

- Theo Maret (@TheoMaret) July 13, 2021