You can’t buy COVID-19 vaccines online, so ignore that ad, text or email – By Laura Hautala (CNET) / January 21 2021
In this pandemic, ads for bogus vaccines may follow you around the internet. They’re not legitimate.
As we all hope for the end to the coronavirus pandemic, many people are understandably focused on the COVID-19 vaccine. Scammers know that. And while you’re dreaming about hugging loved ones, going to concerts or just feeling safe inside a grocery store, they’re busy crafting vaccine-related phishing campaigns to trick you into handing over personal information, money or access to your device.
Last month, the FBI issued a warning urging people to be cautious when opening emails and texts from unknown senders who promise information on getting a vaccine. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a division of the US Treasury Department, has done the same. Still, police in Florida, the UK and other jurisdictions say they’re seeing scams continue to pop up. In the English county of Derbyshire, law enforcement officials say scammers sent out texts with links to a site that painstakingly imitated that of the UK’s National Health Service. The goal was to steal personal and financial information, authorities said.
Scammers are also buying ads offering to sell vaccines directly to internet users. They likely just want to steal your credit card information, but even if they did send out something purporting to be a vaccine, it would be extremely dangerous.
Online scammers have for years used crises and major events to con people. The pandemic has created an appealing situation because the entire world is aware of the disease and the hardship it’s caused in everyone’s lives. From a criminal’s perspective, it’s a great opportunity to get lots of people to act against their better judgment. Scammers seized on this opportunity as soon as the pandemic took hold, offering snake oil cures that never materialized in exchange for credit card numbers or hacking their target’s computers.
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