https://www.wired.com/story/telegram-covid-19-vaccination-fakes/
"Kristina Collins didn’t know her photo was being used on Telegram. Over the
past few months, an Instagram picture of Collins, a Texas-based doctor and
dermatologist, has been used by scammers on the chat app to try to persuade
people to buy false proof that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and
other diseases.
“The last thing you want as a physician is for your identity to be used to
promote misinformation,” Collins tells WIRED, adding that many doctors use
social media specifically to make sure people have access to accurate health
information. “When people are able to take that likeness and use it for bad
purposes, whether it’s fraud, whether it’s misinformation, I think it’s really
scary.”
The Telegram channel impersonating Collins wasn’t alone. Researchers at
Logically, a UK-based disinformation detection company, have uncovered a
network of around 60 Telegram channels selling Covid-19 vaccination
certificates and other proof of vaccination documents, and claiming to sell
various medicines. In 25 of the channels, administrators used a “Dr.” prefix in
their username, with 13 of the channels using the real-world names and/or
photographs of legitimate medical professionals.
The network has been operating since at least June 2022, with more than a
thousand accounts on X posting links that push people toward the Telegram
channels selling “vaccine passes,” according to Chris Proops and Maisie Draper,
Logically researchers who investigated the activity. Overall, they say, the
social media operation has reached more than 3 million people with over 62,000
posts, and cryptocurrency accounts linked to the efforts have processed
$286,000.
The scam is the latest in a long line of Covid-19 and health-related
misinformation and disinformation, which has broadly attempted to capitalize on
conspiracy theories and some people’s concerns about vaccinations. It
highlights how scammers can abuse social media platforms, particularly those
with loose stances on moderation, and potentially erode trust in medical
systems."
Via Violet Blue’s
Pandemic Roundup: December 21, 2023
https://www.patreon.com/posts/pandemic-roundup-95043283
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
