People are using fake COVID-19 test results to bypass pandemic travel restrictions

As coronavirus cases continue to rise and some countries are requiring negative COVID-19 test results in order to gain entry, travelers are buying counterfeit or fake results.

French police arrested seven people last week at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle International Airport for selling fake results, The Associated Press reported. The suspects charged $180-$360 for falsified certificates and could face up to five years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.

People in Brazil have also been accused of falsifying results. Four tourists were arrested last month for using altered testing results when they arrived in the popular beach area Fernando de Noronha, USA Today reported.

They presented three-day-old test results, which were rejected by officials because the island requires negative results no older than 24 hours, according to the publication. The tourists then presented results with a different date and were arrested after a lab confirmed that they had changed the dates on the tests.

A man in England admitted to The Lancashire Telegraph that he doctored his friend’s test results and used it to travel internationally.

Some states have required travelers to present their test results electronically instead of through in-person forms. Hawaii, which requires negative COVID-19 test results for entry since Oct. 15, mandates that visitors register online before travel and upload their results from a lab within 72 hours of traveling.

Spain is the latest country to require negative test results, announcing Wednesday that starting Nov. 23, travelers from “high-risk” countries will need to submit a negative test within 72 hours of travel, The Associated Press reported.

This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 11:37 AM with the headline "People are using fake COVID-19 test results to bypass pandemic travel restrictions."