A new report has revealed that scammers are taking advantage of the ongoing global COVID-19 vaccination exercise to illegally sell vaccines on the darknet between $250 to $1,200 per dose.

Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity company (in the business of providing security solutions and services to protect businesses) in a publication on Thursday said unauthorised advertisement was found for Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Modern vaccines, the three major COVID-19 vaccine brands after researchers examined 15 different marketplaces on the Darknet.

The report disclosed that a majority of the underground sellers have made between 100-500 transactions, with negotiations carried out through encrypted messaging apps like Wickr and Telegram, and payment is done via cryptocurrency, primarily bitcoin.

“Researchers examined 15 different marketplaces on the Darknet and found advertisements for three major COVID vaccines: Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Moderna. There were also sellers advertising unverified COVID19 vaccines,” the report read.

“The majority of these underground sellers have made between 100-500 transactions, indicating that they’ve been completing sales but what exactly Darknet users are purchasing remains unclear. Communications are made via encrypted messaging apps like Wickr and Telegram, while payments are requested in the form of cryptocurrency, primarily bitcoin.”

It added that a majority of sellers behind the unauthorised sale of the COVID-19 vaccines came from France, Germany, the UK, and the USA, with an average cost of about $500.

“The majority of sellers came from France, Germany, the UK, and the USA, and the prices per dose ranged from $250 to $1,200, with an average cost of about $500,” the report revealed.

Negotiation for the COVID-19 vaccines is currently being mediated by the World Health Organization for countries across the globe.