Kaspersky researchers examined 15 different marketplaces on the darknet and identified advertisements for three well-known COVID vaccines: Pfizer / BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna. There were also providers who advertised non-certified COVID19 vaccines.
One of the largest and most complex vaccination campaigns in history is currently taking place worldwide. As a result, it is not surprising that scammers are also trying to make a profit from this. Kaspersky researchers examined and reported on 15 different marketplaces on the Darknet.
$ 500 per dose of COVID vaccine
Most of the COVID vaccine sellers are from France, Germany, the UK and the US. The prices per dose ranged from 165 euros ($ 250) to about 1.000 euros ($ 1.200). The calculated average price was around 410 euros (500 US dollars). Communication with these merchants is carried out via encrypted messaging apps such as Wickr or Telegram, while payments are to be made in the form of cryptocurrency - especially in Bitcoin.
Most of the COVID vaccine sellers have already completed between 100 and 500 transactions on the forums, suggesting that such vaccine sales are actually closing. However, what exactly the Darknet users have acquired remains unclear. The information available to Kaspersky experts is insufficient to say how many of the vaccine doses advertised online are actually genuine vaccine (many medical facilities have unused vaccine doses) and how many advertisements are simply fraudulent.
Highly unsafe COVID vaccines
Even if buyers did actually receive a shipment in the mail, it was most likely not an effective and valid dose. More importantly, obtaining such cans is illegal.
Dmitry Galov, security expert at Kaspersky, sums it up
“You can find pretty much anything on the Darknet, so it's not surprising that vendors there are trying to capitalize on the vaccination campaign. In the past year there have been a number of scams that have exploited the COVID issue - many of them have been successful. At the moment, not only vaccination doses are sold, but also vaccination cards. So a piece of paper with which you can travel freely. It is important that users be cautious about any offer related to the pandemic, and of course buying vaccine on the darknet is generally not a good idea. "
Tips to Protect Against “COVID-19” Scam Attempts
- Never purchase products - including vaccine doses - on the Darknet.
- For advertisements dealing with the Corona issue, always check the URLs of the pages visited. If the spelling is noticeable due to missing or incorrect letters or if the usual .com has been replaced by com.tk or something similar, the probability is high that this is phishing. Never enter personal data on such a page.
- Always pay attention to correct grammar and layout when visiting websites and receiving e-mails. If something seems strange here, caution is advised.
More about this can also be found on the Kaspersky blog.
More on this in the blog at Kaspersky.com
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