The Department of Justice has ordered the shutdown and investigation of a business that claims to be a provider of COVID-19 coronavirus vaccines.
A website, known as coronavirusmedicalkit.com, charges a $4.95 shipping fee for what the business claims to be a vaccine kit authorized by the World Health Organization, DOJ said Sunday. Buyers would also input credit card information to make purchases.
The department said there is currently no legitimate, WHO-endorsed vaccine in the market, and thus is using federal authority to address the website's fraudulent activity.
“We will use every resource at the government’s disposal to act quickly to shut down these most despicable of scammers, whether they are defrauding consumers, committing identity theft, or delivering malware," said Jody Hunt, assistant attorney general at DOJ's civil division.
The department's action also aligns with Attorney General William Barr’s focus to address illegal matters connected to the coronavirus outbreak.
