Fake Covid vax certs spotted by chance, after employee noticed missing physician’s stamp

Greece’s relevant health minister, who assumed the post just last week, on Monday repeated that the government will not tolerate instances of fake Covid-19 vaccination certificates being issued, in the wake of a shocking case that emerged on the national limelight this month.

Minister Thanos Plevris, an attorney, said an internal administrative investigation has been ordered into the case, with results to be conveyed to a relevant prosecutor for possible criminal charges.

An administrative employee at a small health clinic in central Greece is suspected of issuing at least 47 fake vaccination certificates in August alone, mostly to friends and acquaintances from her northern Greece hometown.

The civil servant in question first raised suspicions when she would arrive at her office in the afternoon, after her shift had ended hours earlier. Nevertheless, the apparent scam was uncovered after another employee noticed that some of the documents completed by presumed vaccination recipients lacked a physician’s stamp.

According to a source that spoke to local media in the Karditsa area, the employee also took advantage of a physician’s trust and used the latter’s login and password to access a specific vaccination platform.

The investigation has also focused on the people who allegedly received the fake certificates.