Dark Web has become a marketplace for ‘vaccines’ and other pandemic scams

In the first months of the pandemic, vendors mostly specialised in hard-to-find Covid commodities. More recently, dark web profiteers have offered so-called vaccines for those unwilling to wait for final government approvals. — Pixabay

Following Donald Trump’s quick recovery from Covid-19 last month, advertisements appeared on the dark web – the seamy underbelly of the Internet – selling what they claimed was Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc’s drug that the president touted as a ‘miracle’ cure – even though it hadn’t yet been approved for public sale.

In May, with coronavirus cases surging around the world and no end in sight, a supposed Spanish laboratory doctor promised Covid-19 infected blood and sputum. It wasn’t clear if it was offered because it might contain protective antibodies or as a way to infect an unwitting enemy. Either way the price for the treatment was US$100 (RM402) for two syringes.