ROME – Unscrupulous fraudsters have been selling fake Green Passes online as Italy prepares to make obligatory from Aug. 6 holding the proof of vaccination to obtain access to indoor bars and restaurants as well as sports events, cinemas, theatres, gyms, swimming pools and conferences, Italian police have warned.

Postal police in Campania and Lazio have been scrutinising the internet and especially social networks and  such as Telegram where tricksters are offering obviously fake Green Passes to people who have not been vaccinated in return for payments of 100 to 200 euros.

Postal police have cautioned that anyone trying to buy fake passes is liable for persecution as well as those offering the fake document.

Hackers are offering the fake documents on webpages with names like “Greenpass Ufficiale” or “Green Pass Qr code” charging 100 euros for a fake digital certificate or 120 for a paper one.

One of the bogus pages by the internet pirates claims that “we have supplied more than 1200 Green Passes all over Italy, and to obtain a Green pass with our help it is not necessary to take any test, nor to get vaccinated or even to have previously recovered from the virus. All you need is a national health card and a valid ID document. You will receive your Green pass in paper or digital format, for the paper format you have to supply an address, for the digital it is enough to supply a telephone number or an email address.”

Young people are particularly drawn to the tricksters, Italian police say, but they add they have the means to track down and prosecute the perpetrators.