Forged vaccination passports circulating in Greater Sudbury, says health unit

Forged vaccination passports have been circulating in Greater Sudbury, according to feedback Public Health Sudbury and Districts has received from local businesses.

Since Sept. 22 Ontario businesses such as restaurants, bars and gyms have required their patrons who are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines to provide proof they are fully vaccinated.

"We have heard some feedback from businesses where people may or may not be using altered or fake proof of vaccination," said Jon Groulx, a manager with the health unit's health protection division.

Groulx said the health unit has worked closely with businesses to help them understand the rules around the province's vaccine certification, and to recognize what a valid proof of vaccination document looks like.

If affected businesses make an effort to abide by the law, and check people's vaccination status, Groulx said the health unit would not issue charges if someone got through with a faked vaccination document.

Police investigation

The Greater Sudbury Police Service said it has not received any reports of individuals attempting to use fake COVID-19 passports.

But police spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn said in an email to the CBC that they are investigating a report where a person was offered a forged COVID-19 passport. The individual did not accept the offer, and reported the incident to police.

"Using a forged document could result in a criminal charge of uttering a forged document and producing/distributing a forged document could result in a criminal charge of forgery," Dunn said. "If convicted, both of these offences hold a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison."

"They're fairly straightforward documents.- Aaron Langille, Cambrian College professor

Aaron Langille, a Cambrian College professor with 20 years of experience in the technology sector, said the province's current vaccine certification would be relatively easy to forge.

"They're fairly straightforward documents," he said. "With the right font and the right information at your disposal you could certainly print a very convincing one from home."

Langille said the province's plans to introduce a vaccine status app, with a unique QR code for each vaccinated person by Oct. 22, should be more secure.

A QR code consists of a unique square-shaped barcode with dark pixelated shapes inside it.

"There's no perceptible information that comes from simply looking at a QR code," Langille said. "It has to be decoded. And if you were to load that into photo editing software and try to mess around with those boxes, you're most likely to just have a QR code that fails to scan."

If someone were to use another individual's QR code, the information would need to match their photo ID.

Langille said the province should make the QR codes accessible to people without smart phones in a printable format.