India started its vaccination drive for people aged above 18 years from 1 May 2021. Earlier only people above 45 years were eligible for vaccination.
Currently, two vaccines are being administered in India namely Covaxin, developed by Hyderabad-based firm Bharat Biotech and Covidshield, developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca and manufactured by Serum Institute of India.
Anybody can register for vaccination online by visiting the CoWIN portal or by using the Aarogya Setu app.
Fake Vaccine Registration Scam
Hackers have devised ways amidst this pandemic to fool people in the name of vaccination and to extract money and personal details from them.
A fake SMS that claims to register users for vaccination is in circulation. The SMS has a link that claims to register for vaccination online, but when the user clicks on that link, it leads him to a malicious site.
This page leads to a malicious app named ‘Vaccine Register’ which tries to install itself on the user’s phone.
This app looks similar to the CoWIN platform, but it is fraudulent in nature. It was first spotted by cybersecurity firm ESET’s malware researcher Lukas Stefanko and Malware Hunter Team.
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Similarly, it has also been reported that a fake Whatsapp forward claiming of vaccine registration has been in circulation in India.
This fake Whatsapp message takes the users to malicious sites and endangers their privacy. The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has declared this message fake and invalid.
How To Save Yourself From Fraud?
It should be noted that vaccine registration is restricted to only two platforms: CoWIN and Aarogya Setu app and no other website or app has been authorized by the government for online vaccine registration.
The users should refrain from clicking on any unverified links, emails, or messages sent on Whatsapp. They should also refrain from sharing unauthentic information and messages regarding vaccine registration to avoid the spread of misinformation and fake news.
This way one can be saved from the clutches of hackers and the fake vaccine registration scam that has been doing the rounds in India.
Don’t click on any links in random fake SMSs and forwarded WhatsApp messages to save yourself from this scam!
Image credits: Google Images
Sources: Indian Express, Live Mint, The Hindu
Find the blogger: @fulara_richa
This post is tagged under Covid-19, lockdown, fake vaccine registration scam, vaccine registration, vaccine registration drive, vaccinations, COVID-19 second wave, COVID-19 India, Whatsapp, Sms, coronavirus, vaccine, vaccine doses, vaccination third phase, india, indians, cybercrime, cybersecurity, malware, hackers, hacking, scam, scammers, fraud, fake, fake news, vaccine scam, vaccination india, covid-19 vaccine scam, forwarded messages, privacy, privacy endangered, gullible indians, fraudulent messages, press information bureau, twitter, twitter india
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