Covid-19 vaccinations held in a number of countries are actually being used by scammers to seek profit. It is known that this action can cause many negative things.
Moreover, Kasperksy researchers found an advertisement for the sale of three Covid-19 vaccines, namely the Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Moderna vaccines. This ad was discovered after this cybersecurity company examined 15 different markets on the Darknet.
There are also vendors advertising the “COVID19” vaccine which is not verified. The majority of sellers are from France, Germany, UK, and the United States. Prices per dose range from $250 to $1,200, with an average cost of around US $
500.Communication takes place via encrypted messaging apps such as Wickr and Telegram, meanwhile payment is requested in the form of crypto currency, especially bitcoin.
Sales Reached 100-500 Transactions
The majority of these underground sellers have made around 100-500 transactions, which indicates that they have completed the sale while the effectiveness of the item is still unknown.
To stay safe from scammers during COVID-19, Kaspersky experts recommend:
- Never buy products, including vaccines, on the Darknet
- If you see an ad about something related to COVID, pay close attention to the URL of the site you are visiting. If only one letter looks out of place, or if the regular .com has been replaced with .com.tk or something similar, your gut will tell you it’s phishing. Never enter personal information on such sites.
- Pay attention to the grammar and layout of the sites you visit and the emails you receive. If it looks suspicious, never proceed further access.
