London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jun 02, 2026

Covid-19: Vaccines and vaccine passports being sold on darknet

Covid-19: Vaccines and vaccine passports being sold on darknet

Covid-19 vaccines, vaccine passports and faked negative test papers are being sold on the darknet.

Prices range between $500 (£360) and $750 for doses of AstraZeneca, Sputnik, Sinopharm or Johnson & Johnson jabs.

Fake vaccination certificates are also being sold by anonymous traders for as little as $150.

Researchers say they have seen a "sharp increase" in vaccine-related darknet adverts, while the BBC has been unable to verify if the vaccines are real.

The darknet, also known as the dark web, is a portion of the internet that is only accessible through specific browser tools.

An advert on one marketplace claiming to sell Covid-19 vaccines

Researchers at cyber-security company Check Point have monitored hacking forums and other marketplaces since January, when vaccine adverts first appeared.

They say the number of adverts they have seen has tripled to more than 1,200.

Sellers of vaccines appear to be from the US, UK, Spain, Germany, France and Russia.

The team found multiple adverts in Russian cyrillic text as well as in English.

The vaccines advertised include the Oxford-AstraZeneca at $500, and Johnson & Johnson and Sputnik each at $600, and Sinopharm at $750.

One seller is offering next-day delivery, saying: "For overnight delivery/emergency leave us a message."'

'Buy two get one free'


Another advert on a hacking forum is offering fake negative tests and reads: "We do negative Covid tests, for travellers abroad, for getting a job etc. Buy two negative tests and get the third for free!"

Vaccination passports and papers are being offered to let people travel freely who've not been jabbed

Some holiday operators require vaccination certificates for passengers.

A vaccine passport system is also being considered in the UK and could be used to allow visitors entry to venues such as bars, or sports stadiums.

European officials have also announced plans for a "Green Digital Certificate". This would allow anyone vaccinated against Covid, or who has tested negative, or recently recovered from the virus, to travel within the EU.

It's no surprise then that faked documents are being offered on the darknet for sale.

Check Point investigators found many sellers offering forged documents, including one supposedly from the UK, with a vaccination card for $150 using the hard-to-trace cryptocurrency Bitcoin as the payment method.

When they got in touch with the seller, the team were told that they just needed to provide their names and some dates for when the fake jabs occurred. The seller messaged: "You don't have to worry…it's our job….we have done this to many people and it's all good."

Oded Vanunu, head of product vulnerabilities research at Check Point said: "It's imperative for people to understand that attempting to obtain a vaccine, a vaccination card or negative Covid-19 test result by unofficial means is extremely risky, as hackers are more interested in your money, information and identity for exploitation."

Mr Vanunu also told the BBC that his team purchased a dose of the Sinopharm vaccine from a vendor for $750 as part of their research, but are yet to receive it.

His team has told the BBC that they believe this seller was a scammer, but say others may or may not be selling real vaccines.

Check Point is urging countries to adopt a QR code system across all vaccine documentation to make forgeries more difficult.


Technology explained: What is the dark web?


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×