Scams. They are as old as medicine itself. Fraudsters prey on people’s fears and concerns by pretending they have a wonder drug or access to a restricted item, then offer it up for sale at a premium. The COVID-19 pandemic, especially the arrival of vaccines, seems to check all the boxes when it comes to opportunities for criminals trying to take advantage of the system. Here was a real-life miracle drug that would end a real-life pandemic, and there wasn’t enough of it to go around. Already we’ve heard of cases from Florida and New York of attempts to steal vials of vaccine. In China and South Africa, Interpol seized thousands of doses of counterfeit vaccines. Homeland Security investigators and Interpol issued a joint public warning: “Be vigilant, be skeptical, be safe.” To explain the latest scams out there, how they work, and how to keep from falling prey to them is Mike Alfonso, an assistant special agent in charge at Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of ICE, and the agent coordinating the intellectual property rights center. Listen and subscribe on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, or Google so you don’t miss the next episode. And if you like what you hear, a five-star rating goes a long way in helping us Track the Vax! Serena Marshall: Before we talk about all these different cases of vaccine fraud that you’re seeing, let’s explain, for those who may not be familiar, why Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is leading this charge. When you think immigration, you don’t think about combating fraud. Mike Alfonso: So Serena, I worked for Homeland Security Investigations, which is the investigative arm of ICE. It’s the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security and we specifically focus on criminal investigations. ICE is an agency that’s made up of two different agencies. When Homeland Security was formed in 2003 it merged the U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. And the customs service historically has worked on counterfeit and fraud type cases, financial cases. So when Homeland Security Investigations was created, we took that on. And we are working these types of cases at the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Center, which specifically is geared toward trade and protecting the public safety and the public’s health on what comes into and what leaves the country. We work these investigations with several different agencies, including the FBI, but the IPR Center, where I work currently, has 25 different agencies. And we all collaborate together on a common goal of protecting the public health, public safety and, like I said, looking at what comes into and out of the United States. Serena Marshall: And you have launched an entire operation just to combat vaccine fraud, Operation Stolen Promise. Can you tell us about that? Mike Alfonso: We launched Operation Stolen Promise, not only related to vaccine fraud, but related to all COVID fraud. So, early on we realized that with the pandemic, there was going to be a significant amount of fraud. And we brought in all of our different disciplines. We brought in our investigators, we brought in our cyber folks, our financial divisions, and we all work together under Operation Stolen Promise. Serena Marshall: What is it specifically you’re looking at when it comes to vaccine fraud? Mike Alfonso: We knew that vaccines were coming months in advance. So about four months before the vaccines were finally approved [for emergency use], we were ready for it. We were prepped for it. We were in regular contact with the pharmaceutical companies, and we knew what to expect. We knew there was going to be a cyber element to the fraud. We knew there was the potential for counterfeits. We also met and worked with scientists and doctors and academia, who knew and studied vaccines and studied this issue for years. So we had prepped, and we were ready for this to come out. Serena Marshall: We know that in China and South Africa, they seized thousands of doses of counterfeit COVID-19 vaccines. What do you do to ensure those don’t make it into the United States? Mike Alfonso: We worked very closely with our overseas offices. We’re in regular contact with the countries that have seen the counterfeit vaccines. To date, I have not seen any counterfeits in the United States. Serena Marshall: Now there are other types of fraudulent activity, though. We can think of it in terms of perhaps two main buckets, right? You have the fraud vaccines, but then also people try to take advantage of the system surrounding the vaccine distribution. Theft of vaccines, things like that. What types of those cases have you come into contact with? Mike Alfonso: Cyber fraud is the first thing we saw. We saw the fake websites pop up with misinformation. The second thing we really saw was fake websites that offer the vaccine for sale. And then we saw a whole host of cyber frauds where websites on both the open, the clear web, and the dark web offered the vaccine for sale. I think now is a good time to tell everybody that there is no vaccine available for sale online. You cannot buy the vaccine. You can’t jump the line and buy the vaccine. There’s nothing available for sale online. So, please, if you’re listening to this, be aware of that.
