Dosages of the COVID-19 vaccine are sold on the dark web. Are they real?

Sellers in 15 different “Dark Web” marketplaces have distributed hundreds of doses of what they claim COVID-19 vaccine,according to New research According to cyber security company Kaspersky. In addition, Kaspersky researchers believe that a significant portion of these sales, 30%, could be real vaccines.

“There is evidence to suggest that some of these sellers are offering actual doses,” said Kaspersky Lab researcher Dmitry Garov, who led the study of illegal online vaccine sales. “There are pictures of packages and medical certificates. Some of these people seem to have internal access to medical institutions.”

The dose is as high as $ 1,200 per pop, and Kaspersky researchers who completed the study two weeks ago say some vaccine shops have completed as many as 500 transactions. According to Garov, prices have risen recently and all sales are in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, making it difficult to track. However, according to a survey, at least some sellers claimed they were in the United States. Other sellers said they were based in Europe.

Most of the sellers seemed unsophisticated and offered only a few doses each. Still, Kaspersky Lab researchers have found at least a handful of sellers who have completed hundreds of what appears to be real vaccines, according to Garov.

One of the vaccine ads found by Kaspersky researchers states that they are not selling vaccines, but accepting donations in exchange for doses. “Show your generosity, as your donation will help save more lives,” pre-send $ 81 Bitcoin for each dose requested, along with name, address, known illness or medical condition. Read the offer that instructed the donor to. Of the vaccine. He said supply was limited so that “we could save more lives as soon as possible.”

Lev Kubiak, Pfizer’s chief security officer, told CBS MoneyWatch that he found some cases of fraudsters in which pharmaceutical companies forged company packages, but not the actual sales volume.

“Pfizer is actively monitoring the Internet, including the Dark Web, and coordinating with law enforcement agencies,” Kbiak said. “I have never seen a dose actually sold in an illegal market.”

According to Kbiak, Pfizer is closely tracking the destination of the vaccine. “In the United States, vaccination is free and the only vaccine sold in the United States is directed to government agencies,” Kbiak said. “People need to be very careful. As far as we know, there are no dose leaks. [outside of legitimate vaccination channels].. “

Vaccine makers Moderna and Astra Zenca spokespersons did not return a request for comment.

There is a growing question of whether some vaccines are sold on the dark web and whether people are stripped. Dark web Is a common term used for web pages that are not found by Google or other search engines and are coded to require the use of an “anonymized” browser. Web pages are often also encrypted.

Vaccine offers began appearing on the dark web as early as March 2020, according to an academic study published in January. These offers were arguably fake.

Checkpoint said last month CBS Chicago The number of vaccine ads on the dark web has increased rapidly in the last six weeks. However, when researchers at the cybersecurity company tried to buy the vaccine, the seller disappeared before the researchers vaccinated.

“Our expectations were low, and of course, they weren’t met,” Mark Ostrovsky, Head of Engineering at Checkpoint, told CBS Chicago.

Galov of Kaspersky said there are several specialized markets on the dark web that claim to sell vaccines by invitation. However, vaccines are also sold in some larger dark web markets. Kaspersky opposed disclosing the names of these markets in the survey because he did not want to encourage individuals to try to get the vaccine themselves, according to Garov.

Also for sale: fake vaccine card and test results

“It’s harder than going to the Amazon,” Garov said. “But it’s not difficult enough for only a professional engineer to understand it.”

Mr Garov said there was no evidence that regulators were trying to crack down on dark web regulators claiming to sell vaccines.

There are also fake vaccination cards and counterfeit documents that people claim to be negative on the COVID-19 test. Studies have also advertised suspicious treatments for the disease.

In some cases, the seller claimed to have created a special shipping container for sending Pfizer vaccines. It should be kept at a temperature well below zero to maintain its effect.

“The seller is trying to prove [the doses] “I don’t think it’s fake,” Garov said. “I think some of them are really real.”