Sold On Darkweb, Stolen Vaccines And Fake Covid-19 Vaccination Certificates Can Be Paid With Crypto

JAKARTA – A number of stolen vaccines and fake vaccination certificates, complete with fake signatures, have been sold on the dark web for the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

Based on a report from CoinDesk, a blockchain analytics company called Coinfirm that sells certificates and vaccines with crypto payments including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dash (DASH), Litecoin (LTC), Tron (TRX), Monero (XMR), and Zcash (ZEC).

Coinfirm explained that they chose these cryptocurrencies because they are ubiquitous in global crypto trading. In addition, the coins are also said to support the anonymity of darkweb users. However, Coinfirm did not go into detail regarding the statement.

One vendor on the darkweb, known as the “COVID-19 Vaccine Shop,” has been selling various coronavirus vaccines including Pfizer BionTech, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Sputnik V, and Moderna.

The report also reveals the illegal sale of COVID-19 vaccination certificates as part of "alleged corruption in the health sector" in a number of countries including the US, Russia and others.

Not only were the stolen vaccines and certificates falsified, they also managed to forge doctor's signatures. Coinfirm has identified one Bitcoin address that was used to receive the purchase of the fake certificate.

Reportedly the Bitcoin address came from a user on a crypto trading platform in Hong Kong. The cryptocurrency trading platform is said to have a primary market “in Eastern Europe.”

CoinDesk parties are trying to trace Coinfirm information to find out the mentioned platform. But to date, CoinDesk has received no response. Coinfirm only mentions that the problem with the current trading platform is that they have no control over accessing customer data.