Online ‘healers’ are trying to charge up to £80 to protect people from coronavirus with magic


People claiming to be healers are trying to sell bogus cures for the killer coronavirus for up to £80 a time online.

Users on an online marketplace have been trying to cash in on the crisis, which has left governments around the world on red alert.

Sellers on Fiverr claim to be able to cure the virus or protect against it using ‘healing energy’, ‘bio magic principles’ and ‘Islamic method’.

Prices range from £4 to £80 for the bizarre services which are completely untested, MailOnline can reveal.

The virus has no known cure and most patients who are struck down recover within a couple of weeks without needing medical treatment. 

Those who develop more serious infections in their lungs, such as pneumonia, need expert medical care to stop their illness turning deadly.

More than 71,000 cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been recorded worldwide, and almost 1,800 patients have died.

Three separate listings appear on the website Fiverr with claims the 'healers' who posted the listings

Three separate listings appear on the website Fiverr with claims the ‘healers’ who posted the listings 

The priciest listing is one which claims it can use 'healing based on bio magic principles' – £40 is the basic price, with two £20 extras added – one-day delivery and 'I have infection'

The priciest listing is one which claims it can use 'healing based on bio magic principles' – £40 is the basic price, with two £20 extras added – one-day delivery and 'I have infection'

The priciest listing is one which claims it can use ‘healing based on bio magic principles’ – £40 is the basic price, with two £20 extras added – one-day delivery and ‘I have infection’

One listing, dubbed ‘Powerful Protection’ and listed for £40.24, is titled ‘I will boost immune system and protect you from coronavirus’.

Fiverr user healer_ganna says in the listing: ‘Hurry up! Coronavirus everywhere! I will boost your immune system and protect you from coronavirus.’

It adds: ‘If you have infection or you feels not so good you need imedatly [sic] neutralize coronavirus.’

Healer_ganna claims to have more than 15 years of experience in bio magic healing – a practice with no clear explanation. 

The healing spell costs an extra £20 if a customer admits to already having caught the coronavirus infection.

MailOnline found the adverts after the World Health Organization last week warned about the spread of fake claims about coronavirus cures online.

The global health authority warned of an array of things falsely claimed to protect against the coronavirus. 

They included: hand dryers, UV lamps, garlic, sesame oil, spraying alcohol on your body, pneumonia vaccines, saline nose spray and mouthwash.

The WHO director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, tweeted: ‘It’s time for facts, not fear.’

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus cannot currently be cured through current treatments, the body must simply fight off the infection itself.

However, scientists around the world are trying to find ways to rid the infection. And experts are desperately trying to create a vaccine. 

The best way for at-risk people to protect against it is to avoid people who might be ill, use a tissue when they cough or sneeze, and practise good hand hygiene. 

Another Fiverr listing, by user waves2cure, claims it can broadcast ‘scalar healing waves’ to boost the buyer’s immune system and heal coronavirus.

A basic, standard or premium service is available for the prices of £16.10, £20.12 or £24.14.

Waves2cure’s advert says: ‘I’m able to produce Scalar Healing Frequencies embedded with information code to energize and rebuild your immune system, using a photograph, name, and address of the person in question.’

It claims to be able to stop the mutation of the coronavirus and to ‘neutralize coronavirus’. 

Another Fiverr user – faizgujjar648 – claimed to hold ‘Islamic certifications’ from the Quran and promised to ‘restore health form coronavirs [sic]’. 

They wrote: ‘Just talk to me and I will provide you an Islamic supplication for your problems. I am a student of the Quran.’ 

In the text of one of the adverts the writer says 'Hurry up! Coronavirus everywhere!' and then goes on to say they can 'neutralise coronavirus'

In the text of one of the adverts the writer says 'Hurry up! Coronavirus everywhere!' and then goes on to say they can 'neutralise coronavirus'

In the text of one of the adverts the writer says ‘Hurry up! Coronavirus everywhere!’ and then goes on to say they can ‘neutralise coronavirus’

This listing says it can produce healing waves if you send a photograph, name and address for the person you want to heal

This listing says it can produce healing waves if you send a photograph, name and address for the person you want to heal

This listing says it can produce healing waves if you send a photograph, name and address for the person you want to heal

More than 71,000 people have now been infected with the coronavirus – almost all of them in China

More than 71,000 people have now been infected with the coronavirus – almost all of them in China

More than 71,000 people have now been infected with the coronavirus – almost all of them in China

CORONAVIRUS: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR

What is this virus?

The virus has been identified as a new type of coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a large family of pathogens, most of which cause mild lung infections such as the common cold.

But coronaviruses can also be deadly. SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, is caused by a coronavirus and killed hundreds of people in China and Hong Kong in the early 2000s.

Can the Wuhan coronavirus kill?

Yes – Almost 1,800 people have so far died after testing positive for the virus. 

What are the symptoms?

Some people who catch the Wuhan coronavirus may not have any symptoms at all, or only very mild ones like a sore throat or a headache.

Others may suffer from a fever, cough or trouble breathing. 

And a small proportion of patients will go on to develop severe infection which can damage the lungs or cause pneumonia, a life-threatening condition which causes swelling and fluid build-up in the lungs.

How is it detected?

The virus’s genetic sequencing was released by scientists in China and countries around the world have used this to create lab tests, which must be carried out to confirm an infection.

Delays to these tests, to test results and to people getting to hospitals in China, mean the number of confirmed cases is expected to be just a fraction of the true scale of the outbreak.  

How did it start and spread?

The first cases identified were among people connected to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan.

Cases have since been identified around China and are known to have spread from person to person.

What are countries doing to prevent the spread?

Countries all over the world have banned foreign travellers from crossing their borders if they have been to China within the past two weeks. Many airlines have cancelled or drastically reduced flights to and from mainland China.

Is it similar to anything we’ve ever seen before?

Experts have compared it to the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The epidemic started in southern China and killed more than 700 people in mainland China, Hong Kong and elsewhere.

SCROLL DOWN OR CLICK HERE TO SEE MAILONLINE’S FULL Q&A ON THE CORONAVIRUS 

The unusual listings come after MailOnline revealed last month that self-confessed ‘witches’ were trying to charge vulnerable alcoholics for ‘spells’ to cure their addictions.

African voodoo specialists were found offering bogus remedies to alcoholics from around the world.  

One described themselves as a ‘very experienced’ and ‘professional’ spell-caster, who could ‘bring results very fast’ to stop alcohol addiction.

The Fiverr user – an account called afrospells which had dozens of glittering reviews – offered alcoholics a ‘single cast’ for £199.65.

The Ugandan seller’s premium service, which promised customers three witches would deliver a super-strength spell, cost £519.10.

She claimed on her posting: ‘My late mother was a very powerful witch and taught me how to perform powerful African Magic spells.’

But a leading addiction expert slammed the listings, saying they were exploiting vulnerable patients desperate for a cure. 

And they warned giving up alcohol cold-turkey can be deadly, adding ‘miracle cures don’t exist’ – despite false promises touted online.  

Ian Hamilton, a senior lecturer in addiction at York University, told MailOnline he thought the alcoholism spells were ‘truly bizarre’. 

He said: ‘These type of listings are clearly preying on people who are at their most desperate and falsely giving hope when they feel at their most pessimistic about being able to get out of their problematic relationship with alcohol. 

‘What makes these websites attractive is people can interact with these “specialists” anonymously.

‘That’s likely to be seductive due to the stigma and shame many people with alcohol addiction experience.’ 

Mr Hamilton feared anonymity was being used as a selling point, warning that the posts were ‘exploiting this vulnerability in people with problems’.  

He added: ‘The dangerous aspect to this is it encourages the individual to abruptly stop drinking, this can be life-threatening for some dependent drinkers.

‘The advice and evidence for people dependent on alcohol thinking about giving up is absolutely clear.

‘They [people with alcohol dependency issues] should only do this with medical help and supervision to reduce harming themselves further.’  

Fiverr removed the witch services after being alerted to them. 

MailOnline has contacted Fiverr for comment on the coronavirus advertisements.