Vendors in 15 different dark web markets have scattered hundreds of doses of what they claim to be Covid vaccines-19, according to a new study by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. Moreover, Kaspersky researchers believe that a significant part of these sales, up to 30%, could be from real vaccines.
“There is evidence to suggest that some of these vendors provide real doses,” said Dmitry Galov, a researcher at Kaspersky, who led the study of illicit online vaccine sales. “There are pictures with medical packaging and certificates. It seems that some of these people have access inside medical institutions.”
Doses are available for up to $ 1,200 per pop, and Kaspersky researchers, who completed their study two weeks ago, say some vaccine sellers have completed up to 500 transactions. Galov said that prices have risen recently and that all sales are made in cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, which makes them difficult to track. But at least some of the sellers claimed to be in the United States, according to the study. Other sellers said they were based in Europe.
Most sellers seemed insensitive and offered only a few doses each. However, Galov said Kaspersky researchers found at least a handful of sellers who completed hundreds of transactions with what appeared to be real vaccines.
One of the vaccine ads revealed that Kaspersky researchers did not sell vaccines, but accepted donations in exchange for doses. “Your donations will help you save more lives, so please show your generosity,” read the offer, which instructed donors to send $ 81 in advance in bitcoin for each dose requested, along with a name and address. and any known diseases or medical conditions to obtain a transport of vaccine. He also said that deliveries were limited, so “we can save more lives as soon as possible.”
Kaspersky’s kindness
Lev Kubiak, chief security officer at Pfizer, told CBS MoneyWatch that the pharmaceutical company found some cases of scams that counterfeited the company’s packaging, but no actual doses were sold.
“Pfizer proactively monitors the Internet, including the dark web, and coordinates with law enforcement,” Kubiak said. “I haven’t seen any real doses sold on the illicit market.”
Kubiak said Pfizer has been closely monitoring his vaccines. “In the US, there is no vaccination fee, and the only vaccine that is sold in the US is to government agencies,” Kubiak said. “People have to be very careful. As far as we can tell, there are no dose drops [outside of legitimate vaccination channels]. “
Spokesmen for vaccine manufacturers Moderna and AstraZenca did not return requests for comment.
The question of whether some vaccines are sold on the dark web – and whether people are ripped off – has grown. The dark web is the general term used for web pages that are encoded so that they cannot be found by Google or other search engines and require the use of an “anonymized” browser. Often web pages are also encrypted.
An academic study published in January found that vaccine offers began appearing on the dark web as early as March 2020. These offers were almost certainly false.
Last month, Check Point said CBS Chicago the number of vaccination ads on the dark web has grown rapidly over the past six weeks. But when researchers at the cybersecurity company tried to buy vaccines, the sellers disappeared before researchers could get doses.
“Our expectations were low and, of course, not met,” Mark Ostrowski, head of engineering for Check Point, told CBS Chicago.
Galov, from Kaspersky, said that there are several specialized markets on the dark web that are just invitations and claim to sell vaccines. But vaccines are also on sale in some of the larger markets on the dark web. Galov said Kaspersky decided not to disclose the names of those markets in his study because he did not want to encourage individuals to try to buy vaccines on their own.
Also for sale: fake vaccine cards and test results
“It’s harder than going to Amazon,” Galov said. “But it’s not so hard that only a skilled engineer can figure it out.”
Galov said he saw no evidence that regulators were trying to stop those on the dark web who claimed to be selling vaccines.
Fake vaccination cards and forged documents claiming that a person has had a negative COVID-19 test are also on sale. According to the study, dubious treatments for the disease are also being treated.
In some cases, vendors have claimed that they have created special transport containers to send doses of Pfizer vaccine – which must be kept at temperatures well below zero to remain effective.
“The sellers are trying to prove it [the doses] they are not false, “Galov said.” We think some of them are really real. “