Omicron Prompts Fake Test Scam

As the omicron variant spreads, Check Point Research (CPR) sees a surge in fake PCR/antigen test certificates, primarily sold on Telegram, an instant messaging platform.

According to the research:

• The price has doubled from $100 in 2021 to $200 in 2022.
• It takes the vendor one day to make.
• The vendor claims to register the fake PCR test with a hospital database, claiming to have a relationship with the hospital.

Check Point researchers had a conversation with a fake test vendor on Telegram. The vendor claims to be able to register the fake test with Kingwood Emergency Hospital (Texas) and NYC Health + Hospitals.

Liad Mizrachi is security expert at Check Point Software Technologies.

“I’m not sure it’s exclusively a cybersecurity problem, but a problem that cybersecurity has been dealing with for a long time — verification, authenticity — hence the solutions exist in the cybersecurity space and can be used to solve this issue,” he said. “For example, by applying the same principles used to verify website secure sockets layer(SSL)/transport layer security (TLS) certificates, we can create a trust system where any test result center needs to be known and sign all the tests with a unique key that can be verified everywhere.”

Governments are starting to understand the potential damage and the risk that fake certificates are posing and taking actions, Mizrachi said. This of course creates a fear with the potential buyers.

“From what we see so far, the raising of fake tests certificates is similar to what we saw happening with the fake vaccination certificates in the past year,” he said. “The pandemic, like any other major event, creates the perfect ground for scammers and threat actors to operate. In the case of the pandemic, the impact is much more significant. First they had a long time to prepare and create those scams. And the fear from a global, long-term event is something that touches each and every person worldwide, [which] of course helps.”