Online scammers are trying to sell COVID-19 vaccines on the dark web for as much as $1,000 in bitcoin

Online scammers are trying to sell COVID-19 vaccines on the dark web for as much as $1,000 in bitcoin

Since the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines were approved for emergency use in December there have been a growing number of ads on the dark web offering the inoculation for as much as $1,000 worth of bitcoin.

Scammers online are feeding off people's desperation for the vaccine since the roll out has been slower than expected.

Researchers from cybersecurity firm Check Point were offered a dose of the coronavirus vaccine for $750 in bitcoin. After the bitcoin payment was made, the vendor's account was deleted and the researchers did not receive the vaccine.

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Vendors on the dark web have been releasing ads for the coronavirus vaccine asking for payments for as much as $1,000 worth of bitcoin, according to a Tuesday report from cybersecurity firm Check Point.

While vaccine scamming on the dark web has been prevalent since the first vaccine was authorized for emergency use in December, the amount of ads and price for the unspecified vaccine doses have continued to go up. Check Point found over 340 ads in 34 pages, while there were only 8 pages worth of advertisements last month. 

The ads did not specify whether they were selling the Moderna or Pfizer