- Dark web ads for COVID vaccines, vaccine cards, and test results have spiked 300% since January.
- Check Point Research found ads for products ranging from $25 negative tests to $1,000 vaccine doses.
- Online misinformation about the coronavirus has been rampant since the onset of the pandemic.
In the past three months, there has been a 300% increase in advertisements on the dark web for coronavirus vaccines, fake vaccination certificates, and fake negative COVID-19 test results, according to a report by Check Point Research.
Check Point Research's cyber threat intelligence unit began tracking what it calls an underground economy of vaccine sales in January. The unit found potentially fraudlent vaccines being sold for $500 to $1,000 per dose.
"It is one of the largest public health concerns we have identified in recent times," Ekram Ahmed, a spokesperson for the firm told Insider. Check Point's most recent report found 1,200 vendors in multiple countries purporting to have doses of the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson shots, as well as the Russian Sputnik vaccine and the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.
Some of those shots advertised, Ahmed said, could be synthetic fluids "completely detrimental to someone's health." He warned that there is no way to verify the legitimacy of vaccines bought on the dark net. The research notes that people are desperate to get a shot "because of the greater freedoms they will give to people."
In the US, vaccine rollout was slow and poorly organized early on. Many Americans were unsure where they fit into states' priority groups, complicating the distribution process in many areas. Access to vaccine sign ups, which have largely been conducted via websites and apps, has increased the awareness of a digital divide, which some experts told Insider's Natasha Dailey could now mean "life or death" for some communities.
Still, Ahmed warned about signing up for or receiving a vaccine just because you finally have access to it. "It has to be from an authoritative source," he said. Pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Walmart have partnered with the government to make vaccines more widely available, and mass vaccination site set up at stadiums and other large-scale venues are also being organized through President Biden's COVID response effort.
COVID-19 vaccines aren't the only thing selling on the dark net. Check Point Research found vaccination cards and negative COVID-19 test results. Negative COVID-19 test results are being peddled for anywhere from $25-$35 and payment is often made in bitcoin so as to be untraceable.
Check Point Research viewed several ads for what appeared to be CDC vaccination cards that range in price from $150-$200. People have joyously shared pictures of their cards on social media, but doing so gave dark net vendors an opportunity to replicate the official, government-issued cards, the report notes.
These vaccination cards have become a sort-of golden ticket as cruises and counties abroad are beginning to require proof of vaccination or negative covid tests. In the US, the CDC requires passengers entering the US after flying to have a negative coronavirus test.
"In less than 24 hours, travelers can buy a negative COVID-19 test under deals of 'buy 2 get the 3rd for free,'" according to Check Point. "Travelers can also auto-generate a negative COVID-19 test result in less than 30 minutes for as low as $25."
State attorneys general today have called on Facebook and Twitter to do more when it comes to reducing the spread of misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine, The Washington Post reported.
Coronavirus misinformation has spread on social media platforms throughout the pandemic. YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter have each taken action to update policies to remove false information about COVID-19 and vaccines. Early last year, bad actors on YouTube were peddling misinformation, including claiming to have the cure for the coronavirus.