Scammers pitching fake vaccines and cures for coronavirus. Here’s what you should know

Scammers wanting to make a few bucks off the coronavirus outbreak are peddling fake vaccines and treatments, the Better Business Bureau warns.

There have been emails and websites claiming there is a “cure” for coronavirus, Jim Hegarty, president and CEO of the BBB told 1011 Now. One scam email said that there was a vaccine but is being kept a secret “for security reasons” and asks people to provide their credit card information.

“Don’t do it! Currently, there are no U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccines or drugs to prevent coronavirus, although treatments are in development. No approved vaccines, drugs, or products specifically for coronavirus can be purchased online or in stores,” Hegarty told the outlet.

Clicking on any posts on social media about coronavirus cures could result in having your personal information compromised, Roseann Freitas, the BBB’s Hawaii Marketplace Manager, told Khon2.

“Anytime you click on anything in an email or social media there’s always that consequence that there could be malware attached to that link and that could now be downloaded to your computer,” Freitas said.

Drugmaker Moderna has sent the first potential coronavirus vaccine to the U.S., for testing, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Results of the clinical trials could be available in July or August, the outlet reported.

Coronavirus has infected more than 90 people and killed six in the U.S. so far, according to The New York Times.

This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 5:54 PM.