Brian Sims
Editor
Brian Sims
Editor
BORDER SECURITY and law enforcement authorities are being urged to increase their investment in anti-counterfeiting devices as the trade in fake COVID-19 documents burgeons. The latest news reports indicate an ‘explosion’ in the underground trade in counterfeit documents, observes the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA), with the volume of fake vaccine and test certificates available for as little as £25 growing exponentially.
Indeed, research by cyber security firm Checkpoint reveals more than 1,200 vendors operating worldwide who are presently offering false documentation in relation to COVID-19.
In the UK alone, dozens of people continue to try to enter the UK every day using fake COVID test certificates in an attempt to circumvent current entry requirements. The EU’s cross-border law enforcement agency Europol has warned that scammers are producing and selling fake negative Coronavirus test certificates in airports, stations and also online around Europe.
Counterfeiting is a multi-billion dollar global problem as things stand, but the rise in fake COVID documents is particularly concerning, suggests the IHMA, as criminals take advantage of those people who might be desperate in the current situation.
The organisation is urging supply chains and authorities to review how they tackle the threat before the situation is further exacerbated and also look at authentication and verification technologies – such as readily available holograms – in order to better protect individuals and document distribution channels alike.
A poll orchestrated by the IHMA has revealed that almost 50% of manufacturers and suppliers of holograms had witnessed an increase in demand from customers, specifiers and end users for devices and technologies in the face of the pandemic.
Opportunities for criminals
Dr Paul Dunn, chair of the IHMA, informed Security Matters: “The pandemic continues to offer opportunities for criminals who are clearly and effectively infiltrating global supply channels, deploying scams and counterfeiting measures to trick consumers, damage legitimate trade and undermine confidence.”
Dunn continued: “Supply chains must be bolstered with countries enhancing their anti-counterfeiting plans, which could include the introduction of harder hitting anti-counterfeiting legislation and strategies. The use of track and trace programmes featuring security devices, for instance, could prove especially helpful in proving the authenticity of test documents and COVID passports. This can be very effective, reassuring those in law enforcement as well as consumers that test documents are both genuine and secure.”
The use of well-designed and properly deployed authentication solutions, as advocated by ISO12931, enables examiners to verify the authenticity of a legitimate product, differentiating it from fake products coming from counterfeiting ‘hot spots’ in Asia and eastern Europe.
Even those that carry a ‘fake’ authentication feature can be distinguished from the genuine item if that item carries a carefully thought-out authentication solution.
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