In August 2021, Euronews wrote that a fake certificate costs 100,000-200,000 forints (EUR 272-544). In July, three women were caught in Budapest selling fake certificates for EUR 164. In November, a 41-year-old nurse and her 47-year-old accomplice helped around 90 people get fake certificates for EUR 134, Daily News Hungary previously wrote.

"Now, the price is astonishingly low. While months ago, a fake certificate cost their monthly wage for some people, nowadays, a fake document does not cost more than pocket money."

On December 16, police.hu wrote that proceedings have started against unknown perpetrators. They got involved in bribery and issuing or providing fake covid certificates. Investigators interrogated 24 people as suspects, 2 of whom were detained.

The police accuse two nurses working at a rural hospital of 27 briberies and 27 forged public documents. One of the accused people is a 36-year-old man, another is a 45-year-old woman. The police investigated for months and interrogated another 22 people. One of them is a healthcare worker in a leading position.

"The two nurses sold fake certificates for 20,000 (EUR 54) and 40,000 forints (EUR 108)."

They changed the documentation of these people to say that they had taken the vaccine, but did not give them the jab. This activity went on for months. Selling these fake vaccine certificates became a source of regular income for the two nurses. Now, the police asked the Komárom-Esztergom County Prosecutor’s Office to make a motion for their arrest.

The case is not unique, however. News about general practitioners and nurses selling fake documents is nothing new. Rumours about which doctor or nurse gives out fake certificates, where they can be found, and how much money they ask for in return are spreading among people.

"The interesting part of this case is not how common this new “business” has become but the fact that, at first, people had to pay EUR 272-544, but now, it costs only 54-108 euros to get a false document."