From TechCrunch:
U.S. federal prosecutors have filed and won a temporary restraining order against a website offering a fraudulent coronavirus vaccine, which the Justice Department said is its first enforcement action related to the pandemic.
In a statement, the Justice Dept. said the action was taken against a website, said to be engaging in a wire fraud scheme, seeking “to profit from the confusion and widespread fear” surrounding COVID-19.
The website, seen by TechCrunch, claims the World Health Organization is “giving away vaccine kits” to unsuspecting victims who pay a small fee for shipping. The website asks for a victim’s credit card information.
“In fact, there are currently no legitimate COVID-19 vaccines and the WHO is not distributing any such vaccine,” the Justice Department’s statement said.
A federal judge issued the temporary restraining order against the website’s owners, whose names are not known. The order also demanded that Namecheap, the site’s domain host, pull the site offline.
Link to the rest at TechCrunch
In PG’s personal observation, the COVID-19 problem has brought out a huge number of scams, both online and telephone-based. When PG checked Amazon last, the company seemed to be having problems keeping up with the wide variety of dodgy products and sellers that have sprung up.
See, for example, What You Need To Know About The CoronaVirus: Coloring Book