COVID-19 vaccine scams are on the rise, with some scammers promising a vaccine delivered within days for less than $200, according to US and European reports.

Website domains containing the word ‘vaccine’ in combination with ‘COVID-19’ or ‘coronavirus’ have been increasing rapidly since November, when the first legitimate vaccines were nearing regulatory approval.

“So far a lot of these domains just appear to be opportunistic registrations, but some are going to be used for phishing attempts to have people click on [malicious] links,” said Lindsay Kaye, director of operational outcomes at the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Scams include emails promising entry to supposedly secret lists for early vaccine access.