Dark Web Getting Loaded With Bogus Covid-19 Vaccines and Forged Cards

Bogus COVID-19 test results, fraudulent vaccination cards, and
questionable vaccines are emerging a hot commodity on the dark web
in what’s the latest in a long list of cybercrimes capitalizing^[1]
on the coronavirus^[2]
pandemic.

“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^[3]
Anne An, 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
marketplaces.”

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 Wickr, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Gmail for advertising
and communications.

Darknet listings for the supposed vaccines are being sold for
anywhere between $600 to $2,500, enabling prospective buyers to
receive the product within two to 10 days. A second vendor has been
identified as selling 10 doses of what’s purportedly Moderna
COVID-19 vaccine for $2,000. The vaccines are said to be either
imported from the U.S. or packed in the U.K. and then shipped to
other countries worldwide.

What’s more, fake vaccination cards allegedly issued by the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are available
starting for $50 and going all the way to $1,500. Likewise, another
unnamed seller on a different dark web market is offering
counterfeit German COVID-19 certificates for a mere $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 from fraudsters based in the
U.S. and European countries such as Spain, Germany, France, 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^[4]
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^[5]. “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 rise of an illicit economy for fake vaccination and test
certificates has prompted the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) to issue a warning^[6], stating that those
involved in buying or selling fake COVID-19 vaccination record
cards would not only endanger other citizens at risk of contracting
COVID-19, but also violate the law for unauthorized use of an
official government agency’s seal like the Health Department (HHS)
or CDC.

“The underground economy cycle continues as demand creates
inventory, which in turn creates supply,” An said. “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
personally indefinable information of their customers.”