Blood of recovered coronavirus patients being sold on the dark web
The blood of people who are said to have recovered from coronavirus is being sold online as a “passive vaccine”, a new Australian report says.
In the report released on Thursday by the Australian Institute of Criminology, the blood was one of many coronavirus-related products being touted as cures for people on the dark web – a highly-encrypted online marketplace where illegal items are routinely sold.
The discovery was made by researchers from Australian National University who were analysing how cybercriminals were taking advantage of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Lead researcher Rod Broadhurst told ABC Radio the blood would be used to inject someone who may be prone to catching the virus.
"The word I think is passive vaccination, where the blood plasma of a recovered COVID-19 patient is harvested for the antibodies and that is then used to inject into someone who may be at risk of COVID-19," he said.
Among the many items researchers found were large hoards of personal protective equipment (PPE) – items medical professionals in Australia have routinely claimed is difficult to obtain.
There was also a range of pre-existing treatments for other diseases being touted as possible cures, and other “vaccines” which are believed either to be fake or leaked from current trials.
The most expensive of these products was being sold at an eye-watering $24,598.
Ten per cent of listings were claiming to be vaccines.
"For some people out there this pandemic is a criminal opportunity where they can cash in on fear and shortages. We think we will see more of that and we need some basic monitoring to start shutting it down," Prof Broadhurst said.
"We found unsafe vaccines, repurposed antivirals - which are in very short supply - and quite a lot of bulk PPE on the dark web.
"The biosecurity hazardous products are the most dangerous because some are marketed as if they have been leaked from real trials. But, they could be fake and we don't know what they are made from."
Deputy Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology Dr Rick Brown said the sale of such items “posed a real risk” to the health and safety of Australians and the government needs to act quickly to clamp down on such activity.
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