For Immediate Release: Thursday, April 1, 2021

Contact: Laura Brewer (919) 716-6484

(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein, along with Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery, today led a bipartisan group of 45 attorneys general calling on Twitter, eBay, and Shopify to act immediately to prevent people from selling fraudulent CDC vaccination cards on their platforms. The attorneys general raised concerns about the public health risks of these fake cards in a letter to the companies’ CEOs.

“People selling fake vaccine cards are putting us all at risk and making it harder for us to end this pandemic that’s lasted more than a year,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “Twitter, eBay, and Shopify must act fast to prevent people from buying and selling these cards and prolonging our public health crisis.”

Legitimate vaccination cards are given by health care providers when they administer the vaccine. People who buy fake cards can have their own information added to the card or add it in themselves, so it appears they have been vaccinated when they have not. These deceptive cards threaten the health of our communities, slow progress in getting people protected from the virus, and violate many state laws.

In their letter, the attorneys general ask the CEOs to:

• Monitor their platforms for ads or links selling blank or fraudulently-completed vaccination cards.
• Promptly take down ads or links that are selling cards.
• Preserve records and information about the ads and the people who were selling them.

Attorney General Stein and Attorney General Slatery are joined in sending this letter by the Attorneys General of Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

A copy of the letter is available here.

More on Attorney General Stein’s work to protect North Carolinians during the pandemic:

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