COVID-19 Vaccines Sell for $500 Per Dose on the Darknet

Kaspersky Lab has investigated 15 darknet marketplaces and found listings for three patented COVID-19 vaccines—Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Moderna—as well as some unpatented ones. According to researchers, most of these ads originate from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Communication with sellers takes place through secure messengers with self-destructing messages, and payment is typically required in Bitcoin. Based on transaction analysis, many of the sellers identified by Kaspersky Lab have completed between 100 and 500 transactions.

“It’s impossible to say for sure whether the vaccine offers on the darknet are scams or if buyers are actually receiving what they’re looking for. Some of these ads have positive reviews, suggesting that in some cases, people did receive the product they wanted. Theoretically, this is possible, since unused doses of vaccines sometimes remain in medical facilities worldwide after opening a package. However, there’s no guarantee that all proper storage conditions were maintained, and there’s no assurance that the vials actually contain the vaccine,” notes Dmitry Galov, a cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky Lab.

Fake vaccination certificates are also being sold on the black market. For example, a European-style certificate costs about $20–25. In addition, some countries require proof of a negative COVID-19 test for office visits, business trips, or vacations. In the Russian-speaking segment of the darknet, such certificates are priced at 3,500–5,000 rubles.

Last year, the magazine “Hacker” also investigated what was being sold on the black market in connection with the pandemic.