The blood of people who allegedly recovered from Covid-19 is being sold on the dark web as a "passive vaccine", it's claimed.
Researchers from Australia National University made the discovery while looking into how cybercriminals are exploiting the coronavirus crisis, for a report released today by the Australian Institute of Criminology.
The blood was among hundreds of "products" for sale on the dark web that the team uncovered in just one day of research earlier this month.
Lead researcher Rod Broadhurst told ABC Radio the blood would be used to inject someone who may be prone to catching the virus.
He said: "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."
Among the many items sold by online criminals there were large quantities of personal protective equipment, Yahoo News reports.
Other items included pre-existing treatments for other diseases being touted as possible cures.
Worryingly, the researchers also found other "vaccines" which are believed to be fake or leaked from current trials.
One "cure" was being offered for a price of just under $25,000 (£13,000), ABC reports.
Of the 20 dark web sites investigated, just three accounted for around 90 per cent of the coronavirus products for sale.
Professor Broadhurst added: "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.
"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.
The dark web refers to online marketplaces for illegal items such as drugs and stolen technology.
