PORTLAND, Oregon — Law enforcement officials are warning of scammers trying to take advantage of people with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines.
The FBI issued a press release warning of online advertisements selling fake doses or trying to charge you money with false promises to get a vaccine sooner.
There are several real-world examples of this already. Law enforcement officials in Europe shared a bogus ad for a fake Pfizer vaccine they found online. It cost .06882 Bitcoin or about $1,300.
The FDA sent a warning letter to a Seattle man and owner of North Coast Biologics in Seattle for advertising "unapproved and misbranded" products related to COVID-19 after he claimed he had the vaccine and has given the shot to a dozen people.
In fact, the FDA has sent warning letters to 152 companies about fraudulent coronavirus disease products in 2019.
And experts believe it's only going to get worse with people desperate to get the vaccine.
"Law enforcement is warning that you could see tons of these ads and that people could end up getting hurt from this," said Kerry Tomlinson, a cybersecurity and tech journalist with Archer News Network.
Tomlinson said there are three things that can happen if you fall for one of these ads:
1. It's a fake ad and your money is stolen.
2. The "vaccine" you thought you were buying is fake and doesn't hurt you but it doesn't work.
3. You buy something that could make you sick or even kill you.
Bottom line, if you see the COVID-19 vaccine for sale online, it's fake.
Do you have something you want Cristin to investigate? Email her at CallCristin@kgw.com