What is the risk of using a fake health pass?

Prime Minister Jean Castex made the announcement on December 17: "we assume to impose constraints on the non-vaccinated, because the services critical care and resuscitation units in our hospitals are filled for the most part with unvaccinated people”. Consequently, two major major measures have been unveiled.

The first is the transformation of the health pass into a vaccination pass. Clearly, the alternative methods should be discarded at the beginning of 2022. A bill must be tabled and voted on in this direction in January. In addition, it is also planned to tighten not only the controls of the vaccination pass, but also to increase the penalties against the use of false passes.

These measures were taken as the already highly virulent Delta variant is widespread throughout the country, and a new strain of the coronavirus, omicron, is arriving in France — this one is announced as having an even stronger propagation capacity. The good news, however, is that it doesn't seem more dangerous.

Currently, the health pass is not yet a vaccination pass. This document can be a coronavirus vaccination certificate, a recent negative test result or a certificate of recovery. That said, the will of the public authorities to favor as much as possible the vaccine component in the pass, rather than the other two options, was already clear this fall.

A sesame of daily life, the health pass has raised legal questions since its entry into force. If the debates on the matter are not always closed, what is certain on the other hand is that the use of a false document can lead to very negative legal and administrative effects. Significant sanctions can be imposed on individuals.

Use a third-party health pass

People are required to present their health pass during checks. If they usurp the health pass of others, with their complicity or not, they are liable to a fine of 750 euros in the event of identity verification. A similar amount is provided for the person who intends to provide health passes of convenience, by duplicating his on the Health Insurance website.

This fine is 135 euros if it is paid quickly, notes the administration. On the other hand, the amounts are increased to 1,500 euros if it is found that a bad health pass is presented within fifteen days of the first verbalization. In the event of a third fault within thirty days, the person exposes him to a fine of 3,750 euros and 6 months in prison.

In principle, the person whose health pass has been stolen does not risk anything if it is established that they were just lacking in caution — this is why, for example, their pass should not be shared health or its QR Code on social networks. Note that Health Insurance allows you to generate new QR Codes, but this does not invalidate the old ones. Maybe that could change in the future.

Scams, forgery and use of forgery…

Using false documents to avoid vaccination and obtaining a doctored health pass are not decisions without risk. First, there is the possibility of falling on a scammer who sells a non-existent or sloppy “service”. It is common to see scams flourish online, depending on the news, in an attempt to pigeonhole Internet users who are too credulous or refractory.

In addition to this economic risk, which could vary between a few tens to a few thousand euros, there is also a legal aspect that must be taken into account. Indeed, these facts fall within the scope of the Penal Code, since it is a question of forgery and use of forgery. As a public service sheet reminds us, the sanctions provide for a fine and even imprisonment.

Thus, the law provides for 5 years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros in the event of use, sale or participation to provide someone with a fake health pass, including on social networks

Penalties have been increased. Producing or using a fraudulent vaccination certificate is punished in the same way. The same is true in the event of an attempt to fraudulently provide another person with a document issued by a public administration. And if it's a hacking attempt, then it's 5 years in prison and a 150,000 euro fine.

For a doctor, the production of a false medical certificate constitutes an offense which is punishable by a sentence of up to three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros (article 441-1 of the Criminal Code). Other sanctions are to be expected: the use of false administrative documents is accompanied by a five-year ineligibility sentence as well as exclusion from the public service for the same period.

More broadly, other charges should be considered, depending on the situation. The use of a false certificate or a false test, when the person knew he was sick, could be behavior that could amount to endangering the life of others. In this case, the Penal Code provides for one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros.

Attacking people responsible for checking the pass can also lead to significant penalties (jail and up to 75,000 euros in fines). As for merchants and professionals who do not properly check the pass, we are talking about a graduated response ranging from formal notice to a 45,000 euro fine, through the temporary closure of the establishment and prison.

(updated following Jean Castex's announcements on December 17)

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