The Explosion of Russian-Language Offerings for COVID Vaccination Certificates and the Emergence of the Counterfeit COVID Document Industry
In this webinar, we are discussing the emergence of the counterfeit COVID document industry, from early days of discussion to price and product standardization. Flashpoint has found demand for fraudulent COVID vaccine certificates was present before the widespread use of vaccines globally. We will exhibit the different types of documents and services that actors provide on private channels and in illicit communities, as well as how prices are set and how threat actors specializing in counterfeit COVID documents establish their reputations. Flashpoint has found that Telegram is the most popular platform for advertising fraudulent COVID documents, allowing counterfeiters to reach a broader audience.
Presenter Bio: Maria Gershuni is a Global Intel Analyst at Flashpoint. Prior to Flashpoint, Maria worked for ActiveFence during the 2020 Presidential Election, tracking misinformation and disinformation on social media networks. Maria has a Masters’s Degree in International Relations and International Economics from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a Bachelors’s in International Relations from State University of New York, College of Geneseo. She lives in New York.
This webinar was recorded on September 9th, 2021