In Cherkasy region, cyber police exposed scheme for manufacturing fake COVID certificates without vaccination
The family doctor together with an acquaintance offered citizens to obtain an international certificate of vaccination against COVID-19 without undergoing such a procedure. However, the medical worker entered customer data with errors in the electronic registers.
Unauthorized actions with information processed in state automated systems were exposed by employees of the department for combating cybercrime in the Cherkasy region together with investigators of the Cherkasy district police department and representatives of the Ministry of Digital Affairs.
The scheme for the production of fake certificates was organized by a 32-year-old family medicine doctor together with her 48-year-old acquaintance, who acted as an intermediary. The participants in the messengers offered citizens to obtain an international certificate without undergoing vaccination against Covid-19. For 5 thousand hryvnias, the medical worker promised to enter information about the alleged vaccination in the relevant electronic registers. However, the woman purposefully made mistakes when entering customer data. As a result, the medical certificate was not generated in the Action app, instead the health worker issued paper COVID certificates certified with her own seal.
In the homes of offenders and in the doctor's office, police officers conducted sanctioned searches. According to the results, seals, copies of documents and medical declarations, bank cards, mobile phones and issued COVID certificates were seized.
Currently, law enforcement officers are identifying persons who have used the services of the defendants.
According to this fact, criminal proceedings were opened under Part 3 of Art. 362 (Unauthorized actions with information that is processed in computers, automated systems, computer networks or stored on media of such information, committed by a person who has the right to access it) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The sanction of the article provides for up to six years in prison with deprivation of the right to engage in certain activities for a period of up to three years. Investigative actions are ongoing.
Procedural management is carried out by the Cherkasy District Prosecutor's Office.
Cyber Police Department of the National Police of Ukraine
