ADGP asked people to exercise caution and not to entertain any phone calls regarding the vaccine registration. (Representational) In view of the ongoing mass inoculation drive for COVID-19, Haryana Police has cautioned citizens against fraudsters who could dupe them on the pretext of registration for COVID-19 vaccine.
Issuing an advisory here today, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), Haryana, Navdeep Singh Virk said, “Cyber criminals never run out of new ideas to cash in on the situation. Such fraudsters may defraud citizens through phone calls, emails or even by whatsapp and other social media applications asking them their details for getting themselves registered for the vaccine”.
Referring to the modus operandi of fraudsters, ADGP Virk added, “They are making phone calls to people offering to register their names for the vaccine. With this, they are collecting sensitive personal information such as Aadhaar number, email in the name of COVID-19 vaccine registration. With these details, they also ask to authenticate Aadhaar by sharing an OTP. The moment OTP is given; money is siphoned off from the Aadhaar-linked bank account”.
Virk advised people to exercise caution and not to entertain any phone calls regarding the vaccine registration. “Don’t share your personal data with anyone and use only the government health department approved/issued mobile application for COVID -19 vaccination”, the advisory reads.