Dark Web Now Sells Blood And Saliva From Coronavirus Survivors

Scientists are still struggling to find the vaccine for the COVID-19. The pandemic caused fear and anxiety to almost everyone. Unfortunately, even at the time of the pandemic, there are people who want to exploit these emotions and profit from them.

A new report from Vice details how scammers, hackers, and criminals target vulnerable people at the time of COVID-19 pandemic. According to the report, there are lots of ads on the dark web these days selling blood and saliva of COVID-19 survivors. There is also an exponential increase in the number of domains and sites registered with the words corona, COVID, virus, and other related terms to trick victims to believing that these domains are authentic and legit.

In the dark web market, Vice reveals that there is an ad on the Own Shop claiming that the seller was infected with COVID-19. The vendor says that he is now selling his blood and saliva. In theory, convalescence plasma could be crucial in treating COVID-19 patients, but it has to undergo a lot of processes to be validated.

For the uninitiated, convalescence plasma or "convalescent blood products could be a valid option in the treatment/prophylaxis of several infectious diseases both in association with other drugs/preventive measures and as the only therapy when a specific treatment is not available,” says PMC. The FDA also notes that “investigational treatment being explored for COVID-19 is the use of convalescent plasma collected from individuals who have recovered from COVID-19. It is possible that convalescent plasma that contains antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) might be effective against the infection. Use of convalescent plasma has been studied in outbreaks of other respiratory infections, including the 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza virus pandemic, 2003 SARS-CoV-1 epidemic, and the 2012 MERS-CoV epidemic.”

In the dark web market, Vice reveals that there is an ad on the Own Shop claiming that the seller was infected with COVID-19. The vendor says that he is now selling his blood and saliva. In theory, convalescence plasma could be crucial in treating COVID-19 patients, but it has to undergo a lot of processes to be validated.

The dark web vendor is selling his blood and saliva with the price tag “under $1000.” Vice calls the post a “hoax” and reveals that it is a part of the large COVID-19 scams online, particularly on the dark web markets. The site also claims that aside from blood and saliva, there are other items being offered in the dark web these days related to COVID-19.

This includes temperature detectors, COVID-19 test kits, and even the COVID-19 vaccine. Intelligence firm InSight on Tuesday said that the surge of demand in products being offered in the dark web and black market is due to the limited availability of COVID-19 testing in countries like the US. But, the firm noted that these products are not real, and buyers would just be “scammed out of their money.”

Scammers, hackers, state-sponsored groups, and cybercriminals are currently exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic in ingenious ways. Some do this to penetrate secure networks owned by the government while others do this to scam people into giving their money, revealing personal data, and purchasing fake products.