Victorian worker emailed employer to prove vaccination status – but linked to fake certificate website
A man who emailed his employer to prove his vaccination status accidentally included a link to a fake certificate website, according to a ruling of the Fair Work Commission.
The incident was revealed in a 20 December decision discontinuing his claim to have been unlawfully stood down, handed down by commission deputy president Richard Clancy.
The Victorian worker had taken his fight to the workplace tribunal after he stopped getting shifts with O&M Pty Ltd, a construction and maintenance company based in Gippsland, Victoria, earlier this year.
But things went awry for the employee mid-conference as Clancy asked to see the proof he had sent to O&M, discovered the website, and declared his certificate may have been a fraud.
“Fuck this, I’m not wasting any more time with you corrupt idiots,” the man said following a further exchange about a different issue, before abruptly ending the call, according to the decision.
At the conference, the man argued he was unlawfully stood down, while O&M contended he was a casual employee and had not been stood down.
Regardless, the company submitted, it had been unable to give the man work since 14 October as he had not provided proof of vaccination or a first dose booking, as was then required under Victorian health directions.
The man said he had emailed proof of vaccination to O&M on 22 November.
But, Clancy wrote, “The company held some concerns about the vaccination certificate produced by [the worker].”
Why exactly became clear after the deputy president asked for a copy of the man’s email and saw it contained a hyperlink to a website with the phrase “t he boyz area the pub” in its url.
When the Guardian visited the URL it hosted what appeared to be a fake vaccination certificate generator.
“Welcome to the Medicare vaccine pass generator,” the website, which is still active, reads. “Please input the data needed to make the pass here.”
People are asked to input their name, date of birth and vaccination details and offered instructions on how to make the certificate appear as a smartphone app.
“Make sure your dose dates add up,” the website reads. “Remember, 12 weeks between AZ and 5 (give or take 1) between Pfizer.”
After viewing the website, Clancy told the conference it looked to him as though the man’s certificate “may be a fraud” that the worker had obtained by “fraudulent means”.
A short time later, after the conversation had moved on, the man declared he would not be wasting any more time with the “corrupt idiots” on the call and hung up, according to the decision.
The parting remark was taken as the man having discontinued his application, and Clancy closed the file.
The deputy president suggested the authorities investigate the website.
“If the vaccination certificate is a fraud and has been fraudulently obtained via an illegitimate hyperlink on the internet, this would be a matter of extremely serious public policy concern,” he wrote.