Italy takes aim at crypto criminals who sell fake Covid-19 passports

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Italian police have taken on a rampant online trade in fake Covid-19 digital passports.

Milan’s cybercrime prosecutor’s office carried out an operation that saw thousands of Italians arguing over the purchase of fake certificates.

“Around 250,000 users had registered and attempted to interact with the sellers,” said Gian Luca Berruti, head of the cyber fraud unit.

The criminals carried out their forgery scheme through channels on the Telegram app where Italian police have now closed 10 suspicious accounts.

Reports suggest that forged digital passports cost between 110 and 130, and payments were made using cryptocurrencies.

Blockchain-powered digital passports

Blockchain technology has been crucial in creating reliable and transparent Covid-19 digital passports, enabling the resumption of the free movement of people.

The small nation of San Marino has led the way by recently launching its own NFT Covid-19 certificate.

Passports aim to facilitate the reopening of free movement in the Schengen area and can be issued either as a vaccination certificate or as proof of a negative PCR or antigen result.

Known as the Digital Green Certificate, the passport contains a QR code with a digital signature to protect it from tampering.

When a traveler presents a digital certificate, it can be easily verified, the QR code can be immediately scanned, and then the signature is verified.

Each issuing body (hospital, test center or health authority for example) has its own digital signature key.

All certificate information is stored in a secure blockchain database in each country.

More crypto news and information

If you want to learn more about the environmental impact of cryptocurrency and other cryptocurrency news, use the search box at the top of this page. Here’s an article to get you started.

As with any investment, it’s worth doing some homework before you part with your money. Cryptocurrency prices are volatile and rise and fall rapidly. This page does not recommend any particular currency or whether or not you should invest.

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