With the COVID-19 vaccine rolled out in India, fraudulent elements have found in this an opportunity to trick innocent people by sending emails, messages, and calls enrolling them for vaccine registration. Many senior citizens have received scam calls in the name of vaccine registration or the Drug Authority of India and told that they have been assigned a slot to take the vaccine shot.
As per the report, scammers ask for PAN AADHAAR and OTP information or direct cash transfer for COVID-19 vaccine registration. Fraudsters ask for AADHAR and then request for the OTP to authenticate. Unsuspecting victims share the details, only for the money from their AADHAR linked bank accounts to be transferred to scamsters’ accounts in an unauthorized manner.
Sending emails to people is another fraudulent activity to swindle money. They ask for personal info via emails claiming to be a registration form for vaccination.
The government has warned against the scam emails and messages in the name of COVID-19 vaccine registration and requested the public to not reveal any kind of sensitive information such as AADHAR number, PAN details, or OTP.
The government will never ask for OTP or any other confidential information over phone calls or mail. Hence, anyone who receives such calls should refuse immediately and report the incident to the nearest cyber-crime department.
