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Three main Covid-19 vaccines are advertised for sale on the darknet – the part of the internet not visible to search engines and which requires specialized software to access it, an analysis of 15 markets has revealed.
Researchers at global security firm Kaspersky have found advertisements for Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines, as well as vendors advertising unverified vaccines.
The majority of sellers were from France, Germany, UK and USA, and prices per dose ranged from A $ 250 to A $ 1,200, with an average cost of around $ 500.
“Communications are carried out through encrypted messaging apps like Wickr and Telegram, while payments are requested in the form of cryptocurrency, primarily Bitcoin,” the analysis revealed.
“The majority of these underground sellers have made between 100 and 500 transactions, indicating that they have made sales, but what exactly darknet users are buying remains unclear. With the information available to the experts at Kaspersky, it is impossible to say how many doses of vaccines advertised online are actual doses and how many advertisements are a scam. “
Australian National University regulatory and global governance researcher Professor Roderic Broadhurst and colleagues conducted a similar darkweb analysis in April, looking at personal protective equipment and new Covid-19 ‘treatments’ being sold in 20 darknet markets.
This study revealed 12 markets offering Covid-19 products, with three markets accounting for 85% of the 645 ads. Even then, before any strong vaccine candidate was produced, Broadhurst found vendors promoting vaccines, the most expensive of which was listed at AU $ 24,598. The vaccines allegedly bought in China were also expensive, at $ 23,000.
Broadhurst told Guardian Australia that the majority of vaccines on the darknet were likely scams, with no vaccine actually being offered, or vials sold actually containing saline – a mixture of sodium chloride in water. He said that many positive reviews of these sellers’ listings were repeated across multiple sellers and were also likely to be bogus. Many sellers were trying to scam people to collect personal information.
“Most people are just going to waste their money and get ripped off,” Broadhurst said.
“But the reality is that there will be real product delivery among the bogus ads. This cannot be ruled out, as a very small number of vendors have supply chain connections or have access to product scraps or products that have fallen out of the back of a truck.
Dmitry Galov, a security expert at Kaspersky, said it was no surprise that sellers were trying to cash in on the vaccination campaign.
“Over the past year there has been a whole slew of scams exploiting the Covid topic, and many of them have been successful,” Broadhurst said. “Right now people not only sell doses of the vaccine, but they also sell vaccination cards – pieces of paper that can help you travel freely. It’s important that users are wary of any pandemic-related “deals” and, of course, it’s never a good idea to buy a vaccine on the darknet. “
Australia’s medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, said vaccines purchased online were likely to be unsafe and ineffective.
“These vaccines could also be counterfeit,” the administration said. “People or websites that claim to sell a Covid-19 vaccine cannot deliver any products and may instead steal your money or personal information.
“Scammers can set up websites, advertise on social media, or use SMS messages that appear genuine. Always verify information by checking an independent or reliable source. “
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