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Vendors are cashing in on people desperate to leapfrog the line—or falsely certify they got the shot.Security researchers have observed a spike in listings on dark web marketplaces in recent weeks. The sites are advertising from vaccine doses to falsified vaccine certifications and negative test results. Currently, significantly more than 1,200 listings are offering many different vaccines, including Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Sputnik, and Sinopharm.
Investigations by researchers at security firm Check Point have been monitoring the sites for Covid-19-related activity since January, and they report a three-fold upsurge in such activity throughout the last three months. It’s unclear if the doses are legitimate, and even when they were, there’s no guarantee that the vials have now been stored at the right temperature, potentially rendering them useless.
A week ago, Check Point researchers based in Israel attempted to purchase the Sinopharm vaccine from one vendor, said Ekram Ahmed, a spokesperson for the company. “We tried to negotiate and purchase the Chinese vaccine through among the vendors,” he told Ars. The team messaged the seller, who directed them to keep the negotiations on Telegram. Once there, the seller provided reassurances that the vaccine doses were legitimate. The researchers sent $500 to a Bitcoin wallet, and while they’ve received a FedEx shipping label, they’ve yet for the shipment.
Dark web vendors are probably doing better business selling falsified vaccine cards and negative test results. “Lately, we’re seeing more vaccination certificates being offered” than vaccines, Ahmed said. “It’s probably a two-to-one ratio.”
With COVID-19 testing becoming more widespread, the price for negative test results is as little as $25. Vaccination cards are harder to come by and are available for more, around $200. These certificates are becoming passports of sorts, allowing people a freedom of movement they haven’t enjoyed in months. The European Union is in the process of creating a “digital green certificate” they hope to roll out by June to permit its citizens and residents to visit across borders. In the US, proof vaccination could grant people use of certain venues, and employers may require it of their staff to go back to the workplace.The researchers have alerted Europol to the listing and are contacting others today.the Check Point spokesperson, stated that the sellers they contacted on dark web marketplaces were hoping to create long-term relationships using their customers. The target Darkode Market, he said, “are folks on a lawn, people who are trying to spread and sell at the area level in bulk.”
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