If you don't travel with a fake passport, you shouldn't travel with a fake vaccine card.
As if the last year hasn't been stressful enough on the travel advisor community, some are running into clients trying to obtain and use falsified vaccination documents in order to travel to destinations that require inoculation rather than just getting a shot, according to a report in the Washington Post.
It is a crime to falsify vaccination documents and using fake cards can lead to arrests, jail time and hefty fines in the U.S. as two travelers discovered when they visited Hawaii. Norbert Chung, 57, and Trevor Chung, 19, were arrested and now face up to $5,000 in fines and possibly one year in jail.
Some destinations, such as Hawaii, are not taking these violations lightly.
"We've been pretty aggressive in enforcing and prosecuting those violators that we have become aware of," Hawaii Gov. David Ige said during a news conference. "We have pursued quarantine violations. We do have a case where we had travelers forging vaccination records that we've filed charges against."
Travel advisor Robert Merlin ran into one client who told him that she planned to use a fake vaccine card. Merlin, who is also an attorney, told her that it was a crime, and that he wouldn't book the trip for her knowing she would use a phony card.
"I'm not willing to lose my job or career for somebody's vacation," Merlin said.
Not booking travel is one way to avoid trouble from clients who are using fake vaccine cards. An Ovation Travel Group advisor told the Washington Post that, after hearing from clients who were using and purchasing phony cards, she has taken the step to alert clients in writing that she can't be involved in travel planning for them after such admissions.
Several other travel advisors reported similar incidents and all declined to book travel for clients that said they were using fake documents.
The legal ramifications are significant for those who do.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, misrepresenting the official seal of a U.S. agency such as the CDC is a violation of federal law, and violators could face up to five years in prison or a $5,000 fine.
In many states, using a fake violates state laws, too. New York made falsifying vaccine records a class E felony.
Those traveling internationally with fake cards are also violating the law. Two travelers to Toronto were caught using fake vaccine cards and were fined $16,000.
The practice may not be terribly common, but it is something advisors should be aware of. The travel advisors that TravelPulse reached out to were not aware of any clients using fake vaccine cards.
One way travelers can avoid the issues is to get vaccinated.
Earlier this year, Juliana Mulholland, who plans trips for wealthy clients said one customer asked her if she could obtain a fake vaccine card. She said, "it was out of the question from the get-go."
The client dropped the issue, but Mulholland reminded her that not being immunized would continue to interfere with her travel. The client ended up getting the vaccine.
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