Criminals will target ‘ liquid gold’ vaccine, warn security chiefs
COVID vaccines are ‘liquid gold’ to criminal gangs who will try to steal supplies to sell on, the head of Interpol has warned.
UK storage sites are set to remain secret after warnings from the security services and the National Crime Agency that gangs will be quick to target supply chains and capitalise on demand by peddling fake doses.
Interpol has issued an alert to British police forces and law enforcement agencies around the world, warning them that predatory gangs ‘plan to infiltrate or disrupt supply chains’.
The Scottish Government confirmed yesterday that it had stepped up security for the arrival of i ts share of the vaccine and is keeping storage locations secret.
Global police co- ordination agency I nterpol, based in France, said it had issued an orange alert to forces in its 194 member states, warning to prepare for organised crime targeting vaccines both physically and online. It said the pandemic had triggered ‘unprecedented opportunistic and predatory criminal behaviour’ that could bring an explosion of criminal activity ‘in relation to the falsification, theft and illegal advertising of Covid-19 vaccines’.
On the day the Pfizer vaccine was approved, the agency called for close co-ordination between health regulators and police forces to ensure the safety of vaccine distribution and help identify illicit websites selling fakes.
Interpol secretary general Jürgen Stock said ‘high demand combined with a limited supply will make Covid-19 vaccines the equivalent of liquid gold to organised criminal networks’.
He warned: ‘As governments are preparing to roll out vaccines, criminal organisations are planning to infiltrate or disrupt supply chains.
‘Criminal networks will also be targeting unsuspecting members of the public via fake websites and false cures, which could pose a significant risk to their health, even their lives.
‘It is essential that law enforcement is as prepared as possible for what will be an onslaught of all types of criminal activity linked to the Covid-19 vaccine, which is why Interpol has issued this global warning.’
The agency said criminal gangs were also highly likely to start parallel production and distribution of ‘unauthorised and falsified’ coronavirus testing kits as international travel resumes and airlines and immigration authorities increasingly demand that passengers produce a negative test result.
Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said officials have been warned by MI5 not to reveal the location of the freezers where the vaccine will be stored. Commercial freezers will be used and Miss Freeman said the security services were ‘very unsure about the wisdom of making public where our storage is for what is a very precious vaccine indeed’.
Yesterday, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the Scottish Government welcomed the MI5 advice and ‘will follow it to the letter’ so that ‘we can be able to faithfully assure the public that when the vaccine comes to Scotland, we’ll be able to handle it properly’.
The National Crime Agency said there are likely to be significant attempts to harvest personal details using the vaccine as a hook for spam emails which download malware on a recipient’s computer.
Investigators also anticipate that gangs will use the vaccine as a vehicle for i nvestment fraud, offering bogus opportunities to invest in funds with a large stake in the vaccine producer or supply chain.
Last month Graeme Biggar, director-general of the National Economic Crime Centre, part of the NCA, said vaccine fraud was a ‘new, emerging threat’.
‘Fake websites and false cures’