Home Affairs department warns of vaccine criminal threats

Aussies eager to get their Covid vaccinations are now being warned to be on the alert for scammers and criminals.

Australians are being warned fraudsters could try to sell them fake vaccines or steal their personal information through false appointment bookings as the rollout ramps up.

Another “key threat” will be stopping criminals importing “counterfeit, fake or unviable vaccines” to sell in Australia, the Home Affairs department says.

Door-to-door sales people have also been selling fake Covid-19 shots and injecting people with unknown substances in some of fraud cases overseas.

As authorities try to get ahead of the scams hitting the United States and Britain, Home Affairs has warned a Parliamentary inquiry into vaccine fraud that criminals would likely use “phishing” texts or phone calls to try to steal people’s personal information to “then exploit for future fraud”.

“It is likely cybercriminals will first target the specific sectors identified as priority vaccine recipients,” the department says.

“Of particular concern are the elderly due to their heightened vulnerability to scam activity.”

Nurse Durga Basnet receives the Covid vaccine by Nga Tran at the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Elizabeth. Picture: David Mariuz

Scam attempts and “small scale black market” activity were the most likely organised crime activity to occur in Australia regarding the vaccine.

Ransomware cyber attacks, which lock computer systems and make them unusable, also posed a “high threat” to organisations in the vaccine supply chain.

“It is likely that fraud and scam activity driven by the release of the COVID-19 vaccine will be the most significant criminal issue associated with COVID-19 to impact Australia over the next 24 months,” Home Affairs’ submission said.

It noted vaccine scams were expected to be on a small scale or isolated incidents in Australia.

No illegal imports of vaccines have been detected to date, and the department noted Australia’s free rollout should minimise demand.

“It is still possible some individuals or groups may seek to acquire specific brands or fast-track their own vaccination,” it noted.

Australians reported 5622 Covid-19-related scams in 2020 and lost $7.4 million, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Almost 800 scams regarding Covid-19 have been reported so far in 2021 and people have lost $2.4 million.

Just 58 of the 2021 reports mentioned Covid-19 vaccines, and there have been no financial losses to date, the consumer watchdog’s submission to the inquiry says.

“We anticipate that reports to Scamwatch may increase as the vaccine rollout in Australia continues,” the ACCC said.

Some of the scams in Britain and the US included selling fake vaccine appointments, selling “fake vaccines door to door for payment”, asking for participation in false vaccine surveys or for payment to ship vaccines to consumers, the ACCC said.

Other scams related to emails or cold-calls about investing in particular vaccine brands.

The ACCC has recommended government agencies do not include links in text messages to the public, given one of the high risk issues in the COVID-19 crisis was criminals impersonating legitimate government websites and communications.

The Attorney-General’s department warned some scammers overseas were going door-to-door trying to sell counterfeit vaccines.

“They have then injected vulnerable people with unknown substances,” the department said.

“In addition to putting the public at risk, this undermines public trust in the vaccines.

“The risk of counterfeit vaccines, such as fake Pfizer vaccines, is potentially exacerbated by concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine.”

Fake vaccines were also being sold over the internet, including the dark web, the department said.