The black market for negative COVID-19 tests has popped up around the world as more countries have to prove their negative status before passengers can enter, a report said Wednesday.
In France, seven people were arrested last week at the Charles de Gaulle International Airport for testing a doctor’s coronavirus, the Associated Press reported. The suspects, who were not identified, were charging 360 for fake tests.
Authorities checked his ring after meeting a man bound for Ethiopia with a fake test, the report said. Accused scammers face up to five years in prison if convicted.
In South America, Brazilian authorities arrested four tourists for giving fake tests after they flew in a chain of islands off the country’s coast, requiring passengers to show negative test results.
A man in England told a local newspaper that he would be able to travel to Pakistan using a friend’s negative COVID-19 test and changing his name.
“You can just get their negative test and change the name and date of birth into your own. You also set a date for the test, which is within the required time frame, “the man, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Lancashire Telegraph.
“You download the email, change it and then print it,” he said.
He added that he went to lengths because he could not get the test that he needed to travel because he was not an essential worker.
“People are doing this because if you have to go to Pakistan in case of an emergency, you can’t get a covid test. It’s hard to get one unless you have the key, “he said.
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