Maryland authorities seize domain name of bogus virus vaccine website

By The Associated Press
May 22, 2021 | 11:30 AM

BALTIMORE (AP) — Federal authorities in Maryland have seized the domain name of a website accused of fraudulently offering to sell COVID-19 vaccines.

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Maryland says “COVIDReliefSociety.org” is the 10th virus fraud-related domain name that it has seized since the pandemic began.

In a news release on Thursday, prosecutors say the website promised same-day delivery of COVID-19 vaccines anywhere in the world but actually collected visitors’ personal information to launch phishing attacks and deploy malware.

The site now bears a message that the federal government has seized it.

Fentanyl seizures plummet as Trump administration shifts focus to immigration

By Maryland Matters
August 22, 2026 | 8:26 PM

WASHINGTON — Fentanyl seizures decreased by 39% during the first year of the second Trump administration after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shifted the Department of Homeland Security’s criminal investigations arm to conducting immigration enforcement, according to a report government investigators published Friday. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations, a subagency of DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reported an “all hands-on deck” environment toward immigration enforcement began in January 2025, according to the DHS Office of Inspector General report. “With ICE dedicating more staff hours to immigration investigations, staffing hours for fentanyl investigations declined,” the report said. The report found that the hours dedicated to fentanyl investigations for fiscal 2025 declined by more than 250,000 hours, or 31%, compared to fiscal 2024.

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