Phony coronavirus vaccine site shut down by federal agents

Federal investigators have seized a website they say promoted free coronavirus vaccines but instead allegedly stole people's personal information.

Federal investigators announced Monday they seized a website that they say fraudulently offered coronavirus vaccines in order to allegedly steal users' personal information. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland seized freevaccinecovax.org, which purported to be the website of an actual biotechnology company and used trademarked logos from Pfizer, the World Health Organization and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The site collected user's personal data "in order to use the information for nefarious purposes, including fraud, phishing attacks, and/or deployment of malware," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. "Members of the public should not provide personal information or click on links in unsolicited e-mails and should remember that the COVID-19 vaccine is not for sale. The Federal government is providing the vaccine free of charge to people living in the United States," Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan F. Lenzner said in a statement.