Citizens above 60 years of age have started getting booster doses in India and fraudsters are taking advantage of it. Fraudsters have found a new way to cheat people, by which their account is emptied within minutes.
The Government of India has started giving booster doses to citizens above 60 years of age. Due to rising cases of Omicron variant, people are in a hurry to get the booster dose and fraudsters are taking advantage of it. In a new scam, cybercriminals are extracting important information from people on the pretext of giving information about booster vaccines. Those details are then used to withdraw money from the victim’s bank account.
How is the scam happening?
First of all, the fraudster will call you and call himself a government employee. The criminal mostly calls only senior citizens. After telling about himself as soon as he calls, he asks whether there is a double dose or not. In some cases, the fraudster already has all your information. To make himself look real, he asks you for your name, age, address, and other details. They even share the date of vaccination to make themselves look real.
After that, it is asked whether you are interested in taking the Covid-19 vaccine booster dose and do you want to book a slot for it. After verifying the appropriate date and time for the dose, the fraudster will ask about the OTP that will be received on your mobile. This is where the real fraud begins. The OTP is to actually validate the money transfer from your account. Once you tell them the OTP, the money is transferred from your bank account.
How not to become a victim of this scam
You must note that the government does not book vaccine slots through phone calls. If you want to book a slot for Covid-19 Vaccine, you can visit http://cowin.gov.in. You can also visit the page through Aarogya Setu mobile application. If you are not able to book a slot, you can still get your dose by visiting any vaccination center with a valid government ID card.
People usually avoid the message that comes with the OTP especially when they are expecting it. You should always read the message that comes with the OTP as it tells what the code will be used for and you This one-time password should never be shared with anyone.
