Dark web marketplace, Monopoly Market, has reportedly taken a firm stand in banning scammers from using to platform in the sale of purported novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines and cures which would be purchased using Bitcoin.
Eileen Ormsby, a renowned dark web author and journalist, made a post on Twitter to reflect the latest developments in the popular dark web platform in the context of the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the post, Monopoly Market’s administrator warned users against falling into the trap of unscrupulous darknet scammers that are out to exploit the prevailing global circumstance.
In warning, the admin pointed out the fact that any vendor caught contravening the site’s policy will be punished -specifying that anyone found to advertise a “cure” for coronavirus will be permanently expelled from Monopoly Market.
The admin went further to dispel any rumors surrounding the availability of an actual COVID-19 cure by stating that all vendor products that use the current pandemic as a marketing tool should be treated as “questionable goods”. Nonetheless, the admin provided clarity on the fact that the current ban specifically focuses on misinformation surrounding the coronavirus crisis.
In another Twitter post made by Eileen Ormsby, a clarification was provided about the platform’s policy on the COVID-19 issue. According to Monopoly Market’s admin, the advertisement of items such as masks, medicines and toilet paper should not take the angle of exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic.
A screenshot of the Twitter post made by Eileen Ormsby about the Monopoly Market policy against COVID-19 scammers.
A Pandemic Worsened By Dark Web Infodemic
Monopoly Market’s principled resolve to protect users against opportunistic scammers is a wave of fresh breath in the face of global fear mongering that has been witnessed across all economic sectors on the planet.
Truth is, this is not the first time that dark web platforms have stepped up to enforce morality in an industry that’s been plagued by fraud. Case example, in the year 2018, various dark web drug dealers chose to ban the sale of deadly fentanyl on their platforms following widespread reports of fatalities owing to fentanyl overdose cases.
Today, even as Monopoly Market has chosen to prevent the spread of misinformation surrounding COVID-19, a host of several other dark web markets have failed to crack down on the infodemic around the coronavirus crisis.
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a subsidiary of the Department of Homeland Security, provided a notice in early March concerning the expected spike in scamming cases that would plug into the widespread fear around the COVID-19 pandemic.
Therefore, it is no surprise to see a number of fake vaccines and cures being promoted on the dark web despite the fact that only no one single vaccine has been approved for mass human administration.
In the meantime, dark web criminals are having a field day at peddling purported treatments that are bound to pose significant harm to anyone who dares consume them.
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