Fake COVID-19 Vaccine Website Shutdown After Stealing Information to Commit Identity Crimes

• The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, working with the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Baltimore, recently seized the fake COVID-19 vaccine website “Freevaccinecovax.org.”
• The website collected personal information from people who visited it by asking them to download a PDF file to their device to apply for more information.
• Interacting on a malicious website offering COVID-19 vaccines could lead to an array of identity crimes, including a phishing attack, malware attack and different forms of social engineering.
• COVID-19 vaccines are not being sold online. Any link that claims to take someone to a website to purchase one is fake. To find a vaccine appointment online, people should go through their local department of health, pharmacy or health care provider.
• For more information on fake COVID-19 vaccine websites, or if you believe you are a victim of a COVID-19 vaccine scam, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center toll-free by phone (888.400.5530) or live-chat on the website www.idtheftcenter.org.

Federal officials shut down a fake COVID-19 vaccine website after discovering the website was stealing people’s personal information for cybercriminal activity. According to Threatpost, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, working with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Baltimore, seized “Freevaccinecovax.org,” “which purported to be the website of a biotechnology company developing a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus,” according to a news release on the office’s website.

Since the U.S. began administering the COVID-19 vaccines, cybercriminals have tried to take advantage of consumer’s desire for vaccinations. According to NBC 4 Washington, BrandShield, a global cybersecurity firm protecting some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies from cyberthreats, found a 4,200 percent increase in potentially fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine websites from January 2020 through the end of February 2021. The news of the latest malicious website highlights the importance of being cautious with COVID-19 vaccine websites and how to use them.

Who are the Targets?

People looking to receive the COVID-19 vaccine

What is the Scam?

Threat actors created “Freevaccinecovax.org” to collect personal information from people who visited the website to commit identity crimes like fraud, phishing attacks or to deploy malware. Threatpost says the fake COVID-19 vaccine website used trademarked logos for Pfizer, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on its homepage to trick people into believing it was a legitimate site. The malicious website had a drop-down menu that asked users to apply for information by downloading a PDF file to their device.

What They Want

Identity criminals are after people’s personal information to commit phishing attacks, malware attacks, social engineering and other forms of identity-related fraud.

How to Avoid Being Scammed

To avoid a fake COVID-19 website:

• Ignore websites trying to sell a vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines are not being sold online. Any link that claims to take you to a website to purchase one is fake.
• Do not click on any posts or ads claiming to sell cures. Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• If you are checking for a vaccine appointment online, make sure you do it through your local department of health, pharmacy or health care provider. Never follow a link randomly sent to you.

To learn more about COVID-19 vaccine scams, malicious websites, or if you believe you were on a fake COVID-19 vaccine website, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center toll-free by calling 888.400.5530. You can also visit the company website to live-chat with an expert advisor. Go to www.idtheftcenter.org to get started.