‘Coronavirus has changed the way we travel and many countries now demand proof of a negative Covid test before letting you in - with tests often costing hundreds of pounds. BBC reporter Joice Etutu has been speaking to two women who admit using and selling fake certificates...
‘Jessica* is also 24. She admits to selling fake Covid-19 certificates to people who wanted to travel abroad by advertising her services on social media. She says it was "easy money". "They just didn't want to pay £150 for a private test," she says. "We charged them £50. "Because it was so cheap people were asking so many questions, like 'how does it work?', 'when I get to the place are they gonna double check?', 'how did you do it?', 'am I gonna get in trouble?'"
‘Buying or even attempting to buy a forged certificate is a crime in the UK and using a forged certificate to travel is fraud by false representation. If you're caught selling fake certificates in the UK, you might face a prison sentence. Currently, it's the responsibility of airlines to check that passengers have a negative test result.’
Read here (BBC, Feb 9, 2021)
