imitative vaccinum certificates , fake negative test results , and what are being touted as “ COVID-19 vaccinum ” are being floggedon the dark web , according to a new report this week .
Check Point Research , an American - Israeli IT and cybersecurity caller , recently published their finding inquire how peddlers on the dark web have cursorily jumped on the need created by the COVID-19 vaccinum rollout .
The vaccinum advertised include Oxford - AstraZeneca ( for around $ 500 ) , Johnson & Johnson ( $ 600 ) , the Russian Sputnik V vaccine ( $ 600 ) , and the ChineseSinopharmvaccine ( $ 500 ) . trafficker of vaccines appear to be from the US , UK , Spain , Germany , France , and Russia , but , manifestly , their identities are mist . All payments arebitcoin or other cryptocurrenciesto ensure the seller or buyer can not be key out through defrayment transactions .
gratuitous to say , buying unregulated medical specialty from a shady online market is a very high-risk approximation . The place of origin of the supposed vaccine being sell on the dark vane is totally unknown ; they may be steal , they could be imitations of the genuine vaccines , or they may simply bebogus shots containingsaline solution . Either way , no MD would recommend inject this stuff and nonsense into your body .
On top of vaccinum , dark vane vendor are also sell counterfeit documents , including faked negative COVID-19 test papers and imitative vaccinum certificates . One seller , supposedly from the UK , has offered customs vaccinum certificates for $ 150 , which included a badge from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) along with individualised script as if it had been written by a aesculapian professional .
Other list were advertising negative COVID-19 test results , claiming “ We do negative covid tryout , for traveler abroad , for getting a job etc . Everything is done within 24 hour , without expectant collateral . ” The post even sum , “ grease one’s palms 2 negative tryout and get the 3rd for free ! "
Worries over imitative vaccine certificates have already been slacken off by some law enforcement authority . Europol , the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation , warn about the illicit sale of phony vaccine tests and certificates last calendar month , saying they have already seen legion case of fraudulent COVID-19 psychometric test certificates being sold to travelers . As one case , Europol claim they " dismantled " a forgery ring sell negative test results to passengers at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris , France .
With so - called " vaccine passports " likely toplay an authoritative rolein the next stage of the pandemic , Check Point argues that political science involve to pay off close attention to the issue of spurt documents link up to COVID-19 .
" As COVID-19 is probable to play a major role in dictating what we as individuals can and can not do in our daily lives for the foreseeable future , countries ’ Governments should be aware of this fast - growing illegal and dangerous trend for false inoculation certificates and “ official ” medical records being sell and farm to whoever wishes to give for them , " Check Point conclude .
For more information about COVID-19 , check out theIFLScience COVID-19 hubwhere you could follow the current state of the pandemic , the advance of vaccinum development , and further insights into the disease .