Fake COVID-19 test results, fraudulent vaccination cards and questionable vaccines are emerging hot commodity on the dark web. "A new and troubling phenomenon is that consumers are buying COVID-19 vaccines on the black market due to the increased demand around the world," said Anne a senior security researcher at McAfee's Advanced Programs Group (APG). "As a result, illegal COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination records are in high demand on darknet markets."
The growing demand and the race towards achieving herd immunity means at least a dozen underground marketplaces are peddling COVID-19 related merchandise, with Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines purchasable for $500 per dose from top-selling vendors who rely on services like Telegram, WhatsApp , and Gmail for advertising products and communications. Darknet listings for the supposed vaccines are being sold for anywhere between $600 to $2500 enabling prospective buyers to receive the product within 2 to 10 days. A second vendor has been identified as selling 10 doses of what's Modern COVID-19 vaccine for $2000. The vaccines are said to be either imported from the U.S. or packed in the U.K. and then shipped to other countries of the world.
Fake vaccination cards allegedly issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are available on Darknet starting from $50 and going all the way to $1500. Likewise another unnamed seller on a different Dark Web market is offering counterfeited German COVID-19 certificates for $22.35.This is not an isolated case. Earlier this March, American-Israeli Cybersecurity firm Check Point made public details of a hacking forum promoting the sales of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine certificates at a discount rate from fraudsters based in the U.S. and European countries such as Spain, Germany and Russia.
Fake negative COVID-19 test results and vaccine passport certificates are being sold for $25 and $250 respectively, with darknet ads for COVID-19 vaccines surging by over 300% to surpass 1,200 in number in the first three months of 2021, the company said.
"A negative COVID test result or a vaccination certificate is becoming the golden key that will unlock restrictions and enable people to move and mingle with greater freedom," Check Point researchers explained. "And of course, this creates an opportunity for criminals and scammers to exploit those people who are willing to risk using fake documents to achieve that freedom."
"The underground economy cycle continues as demand creates inventory, which in turn creates supply." In addition to selling COVID-19 vaccines, vaccination cards, and fake test results, cybercriminals can also benefit by reselling the names, dates of birth, home addresses, contact details, and other information of their customers.
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