Share this article
US Authorities Freeze COVID-19 Website Alleged Scammer Tried to Sell for Bitcoin
The U.S. departments of Justice and Homeland Security seized coronaprevention.org after its owner allegedly tried to sell it for $500 in bitcoin.
By Nikhilesh De
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 8:33 a.m. Published Apr 24, 2020, 11:19 p.m.
The U.S. departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) have seized coronaprevention.org, alleging its owner tried to sell the domain for bitcoin after posting about it in a "hacker's forum."
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Announced late Friday, the unidentified owner of the site tried to sell the domain to an undercover agent with the Department of Homeland Security's Criminal Investigations unit, who said they wanted to use the site to sell fake COVID-19 testing kits, a plan the owner reportedly said was "genius."
According to a warrant attached to the press release, the owner of coronaprevention.org, referred to as "Subject A," listed the domain for sale on a forum "known to focus on content related to, and populated by users interested in, hacking and hijacking online accounts" a day after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency due to the virus.
The undercover agent reached out, and Subject A allegedly said they were charging $500 payable in bitcoin for the domain (according to the warrant, such domains are usually closer to $20). The agent ultimately sent a partial payment to an undisclosed bitcoin address.
The news comes on the heels of the DOJ's announcement that it had "disrupted" hundreds of domains that were being used to shill scams related to COVID-19.
A list of the domains seized was not available, and it is unclear whether Friday's seizure was related. However, earlier this week a DOJ spokesperson told CoinDesk, “The department is aware of the reported increase in COVID-19-related fraud involving various virtual payment platforms and appreciates the proactive assistance of many in the cryptocurrency community to thwart those schemes.”
The spokesperson did not respond to an additional question about which entities it was working with.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Hut 8’s AI data center deal is bigger than meets the eye: Benchmark lifts price target to $85
Shares of the bitcoin miner jumped higher last week on its $7 billion pact with Google-backed Fluidstack.
What to know:
- Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer said Hut 8’s $7 billion, 15-year Fluidstack lease at River Bend underscores its shift toward institutional-grade digital infrastructure.
- Google’s payment backstop and expansion/renewal options could see the potential contract value rising to about $17.7 billion, according to Palmer.
- Palmer raised his Hut 8 price target to $85 from $78 and reiterated his buy rating on the stock.
Top Stories
