David Y. Ige

HONOLULU – Attorney General Clare E. Connors today called on OfferUp, an online mobile marketplace, to act immediately to prevent fraudulent or blank COVID-19 vaccine cards from being sold on its platform.

A bipartisan coalition of 42 attorneys general, led by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III, and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul raised concerns about the public health risks of these fake cards in a letter to the company.

The fake cards appear to be official because they include the logos for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health. However, using these deceptive cards violates many state laws which provide for injunctive relief, damages, and other penalties for such conduct.

“Those who falsely claim to be vaccinated are circumventing policies established to keep people safe,” said Attorney General Connors.  “Online platforms must do everything they can to stop and prevent dangerous, unlawful conduct occurring on their platforms.”

In their letter, the attorneys general urge OfferUp to:

• Monitor its platform 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 Connors is joined in sending this letter by the Attorneys General of North Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Guam, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming..

A copy of the letter is available here.

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