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Scammers and sellers on the darknet are trying to capitalise on the global Covid-19 vaccination campaigns.
Researchers from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky examined 15 different marketplaces on the Darknet and found advertisements for three major Covid-19 vaccines: Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Moderna. There were also sellers advertising unverified “Covid-19” vaccines, it said.
A majority of these darknet sellers posting advertisements for vaccines came from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The prices per dose listed ranged from $250 to $1,200, with an average cost of about $500.
“Communications are made via encrypted messaging apps like Wickr and Telegram, while payments are requested in the form of cryptocurrency, primarily bitcoin,” Kaspersky said.
A majority of these underground sellers have made between 100-500 transactions. According to the cybersecurity company, this indicates that the sellers have been completing sales. However, it remains unclear what exactly are the Darknet users purchasing.
“With the information available to Kaspersky experts, it’s impossible to tell how many of the vaccine doses being advertised online are actual doses (many medical facilities have found themselves with leftover doses) and how many advertisements are a scam,” it said.
The company further advised users to be wary of such vaccination scams. Furthermore, obtaining such doses in this way is illegal.
“You can find just about anything on the Darknet, so it’s not surprising sellers there would attempt to capitalize on the vaccination campaign. Over the past year, there have been a whole host of scams exploiting the Covid topic, and many of them have been successful. Right now, not only are people selling vaccine doses, but they’re also selling vaccination records—pieces of paper that can help you travel freely. It’s important for users to be cautious of any “deal” related to the pandemic, and, of course, it’s never a good idea to buy a vaccine off the Darknet,” said Dmitry Galov, security expert at Kaspersky.
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