The U.S. Department of Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has issued a warning to financial institutions to be alert to the threat of fraud, ransomware and other types of criminal activity targeting COVID-19 vaccines and their distribution.

The warning, issued Monday , states that COVID-19 vaccine fraud may include the sale of unapproved and illegally marketed vaccines, counterfeit versions of approved vaccines and the illegal diversion of legitimate vaccines. FinCEN claims that fraudsters are already offering to provide potential victims with a vaccine sooner than otherwise available for a fee.

Ransomware is specifically mentioned. The notice says operators will continue to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that there are current ransomware campaigns directly targeting vaccine research. FinCEN notes that it’s likely that similar attacks could be launched to disrupt the vaccine supply chain and delivery operations.

Phishing is also mentioned: “Financial institutions and their customers should also be alert to phishing schemes luring victims with fraudulent information about COVID-19 vaccines.”

That phishing is in the mix comes as no surprise: A report from researchers at IBM Corp. Dec. 3 detailed a global phishing campaign that was specifically targeting distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. In this case, the operation was zeroing in on the COVID-19 vaccine cold chain, a component of the vaccine supply chain that ensures the safe preservation of vaccines in a temperature-controlled environment during their storage and transportation.

In a similar vein, a warning in July from the U.K. National Cyber Security Center and Canada’s Communications Security Establishment with support from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, said Russian hackers were targeting COVID-19-related research.

FinSEC is asking financial institutions to file Suspicious Activity Reports should they detect any transactions that appear to be related to fraud involving COVID-19 vaccines. The reports, in conjunction with effective implementation of Bank Secrecy Act compliance requirements by financial institutions, is said to be crucial in identifying and stopping fraud, cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime, including those related to COVID-19 vaccines.

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