Covid19 Vaccine Fraud: How To Save Yourself From Fake Registration Scam

The situation is bad as India is seeing a rise in the number of Covid19 cases. The country is facing a shortage of many essential Covid medical supplies. While most are trying to help, there will always be the ones who will take advantage of this situation and the vulnerable state of a family.

As of now, many scams are going on in India. From bed-blocking scam to Cipla medicine scam, oxygen cylinder fraud and others; the scammers are trying to take advantage of the situation.

The Central Government has announced that beginning May 1, anyone over the age of 18 would be able to register for vaccines. To get their coronavirus vaccine, all eligible people can register on the government's Co-WIN site, cowin.gov.in, or the Aarogya Setu app. Ideally, the procedure is that you will have to register on the app, yourself.

Also Read: Cipla Scam: Fraudsters Set Up Fake Bank Accounts To Dupe Covid Patients

But recently people have been receiving an SMS that says it will register you for the vaccine. When you click on the link, it takes you to a malicious site.  There will be an app called “Vaccine Register” that will get downloaded on your mobile phone. This is a fake app but looks very realistic.

Many people falling for this as CoWin app is now full of requests and is also glitching due to that. Indians are believing this malicious app to be an alternative to CoWin app.

ESET’s malware researcher Lukas Stefanko shared a tweet in which he explained everything. “SMS worm impersonates Covid-19 vaccine free registration,” he wrote.

SMS worm impersonates Covid-19 vaccine free registration

Android SMS worm tries to spread via text messages as fake free registration for Covid-19 vaccine - targets India 🇮🇳
It can spread itself via SMS to victim contacts with link to download this malware. https://t.co/EXAAGARqOP pic.twitter.com/HX957bPVu5

— Lukas Stefanko (@LukasStefanko) April 29, 2021

“Android SMS worm tries to spread via text messages as fake-free registration for Covid-19 vaccine - targets India. It can spread itself via SMS to victim contacts with a link to download this malware,” he explained.

Whenever you download an app, it will ask for permission to access your phone storage, contacts and media. Even the Fake “Vaccine Register” app will ask for permission to view your contacts and SMS. People are approving it believing that they will receive the Vaccine registration number.

PLEASE REMEMBER

- Apart from the Co-WIN site (app), cowin.gov.in, or the Aarogya Setu app, there is no other official website or app provided by the Government. These two are the only ones that allow vaccine registration.

- Do not trust any SMS, WhatsApp messages or Email claiming to help you with vaccine registration. These third-party apps are not officially approved by the centre. If you receive such messages with suspicious links, immediately delete them and make sure to not click on any link.

- Never give permission to any malicious app asking for storage, contact or SMS access. Do not pay online, especially for injections or medical drugs.