The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has called on European Union countries to look for crooks to sell fake COVID-19 vaccines at a time when the bloc of 27 nations is facing delays in its administration.
OLAF has received reports of scammers offering to sell fake vaccines to EU governments trying to speed up vaccination, the agency said in a statement on Monday.
“For example, scammers could offer to sell large quantities of vaccines, hand over a sample to receive the first advance payment and then disappear with the money,” said Ville Itälä, OLAF’s director general.
“They could deliver fake vaccine packages,” Itälä added. “Or they could falsely claim to be legitimate companies and own or have access to vaccines. All these statements have one thing in common: they are false. “
The EU has been criticized for the slow distribution of COVID-19 vaccines compared to other parts of the world, such as the United Kingdom and Israel. The EU Commission has signed six contracts for more than 2 billion doses of various coronavirus vaccines, but so far only three of them have been approved for use and the delivery of vaccines has been interrupted by a delay in its manufacture.
OLAF’s message is similar to a warning from Europol, the EU law enforcement agency, which in December noted the risk of scams against organized crime related to COVID-19 vaccines, including the possibility of criminals trying to sell dangerous counterfeit vaccines or steal shipments. of real vaccines.