Border agents in Memphis have seized thousands of counterfeit COVID-19 vaccine cards this year

• Border agents in Memphis have been seizing fake COVID-19 vaccination cards every night.
• So far, they have intercepted hundreds of shipments of counterfeit cards this year.
• The FBI has warned that selling or buying fake cards is a federal crime.

Border agents at a port in Memphis, Tennessee, have seized thousands of counterfeit COVID-19 vaccination cards so far this year, the Customs and Border Protection agency announced.

The agency said in a statement that agents recently flagged a "suspicious shipment" from Shenzhen, China, that was listed in the manifest as "PAPER CARD, PAPER." Inside were 51 "low-quality" fake vaccination cards - and it was the 15th such shipment the agents had discovered that night.

CBP said the port has been intercepting shipments of counterfeit vaccine cards each night, totaling 121 seizures of 3,000 vaccine cards this year.

Border agents knew immediately that the cards were fake, the agency said, because the cards were laden with typos, unfinished words, and incorrect or misspelled Spanish words on the backs of the cards.

CBP said the shipments of fake cards are "always from China" and the recipients are "unfortunately all over the United States."

The FBI has warned in the past that creating or buying fake vaccine cards is a federal crime, given that it's considered an "unauthorized use of an official government agency's seal (such as HHS or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)."

Authorities across the country have already made multiple arrests in recent months on charges of selling fake vaccination cards.

CBP's area port director of Memphis urged in a statement Friday not to order counterfeit vaccine cards, as it wastes agents' time.

"When you order a fake vaxx card, you are using my officers' time as they also seize fentanyl and methamphetamines," the statement said.