FACEBOOK has removed an advert flogging fake fit to fly certificates after an Argus investigation found scammers undermining the vaccine rollout.

The social media giant claims to have purged its marketplace of all adverts offering PCR test kits, including those posted by scammers, after being contacted about an elaborate fraud uncovered by the paper.

The company - now rebranded as Meta - claimed it does "not allow the sale of Covid-19 test kits" after The Argus found scammers advertising fake PCR certificates from £1.

It comes just days after the government tightened rules around PCR tests for travellers returning to the UK and introduced quarantine rules for people from high-risk countries.

A Meta spokesman told The Argus: "We do not allow the sale of COVID-19 test kits on Marketplace and we swiftly removed the listing brought to our attention"

An Argus investigation found an online laboratory advertising on Facebook claiming to perform 36,000 tests a month with 90 employees while promising "private and secure results".

The Argus: The listing on Facebook The listing on Facebook

The forged document obtained by our undercover reporter certifies that the passenger has tested negative - without ever taking a test.

The certificates are used by the government to track potentially deadly variants of coronavirus, including Omicron, which has forced the reintroduction of harsh travel rules.

After calling the fraudster and posing as an interested buyer trying to travel to Germany, we were immediately offered the certificate "without the test" for £40.

The self-proclaimed expert claimed to have access to a laboratory in the UK and reassured our reporter that "lots of people" had bought the fake test.

Taking just four hours to forge, the man sent an example of the fake certificate, retracting a previous passenger's passport and personal details.

The fraudster told our reporter that the operation was used to make a "little bit of money" for Friday nights.

The fraudster told our reporter: "The price is £40 if you just want the certificate.

"If you want, we can send you the test, which is £57 with transportation expenses.

"You pay after you receive the results.

"Too many people are doing it [fake tests].

"Everyone is asking me can I send them [the certificate] straight away.

"Many people ask me and lots of people travelling to Pakistan, USA and Netherlands to do this mate.

"No one gets caught".

It comes a Boris Johnson urged people not to cancel Christmas parties or school nativity plays as he promised to “throw everything” at the booster vaccination campaign to tackle the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The Prime Minister promised that everyone eligible would be offered a jab by the end of January with at least 400 military personnel helping the NHS, and vaccination centres “popping up like Christmas trees”.

Mr Johnson rejected a call from a senior health official to limit socialising in the run-up to Christmas, insisting that he had already put in place a package of “balanced and proportionate measures” in response to the threat posed by the new variant.