Beware of fraudsters offering free Covid vaccine: Police

KOCHI: The city police have warned people that fraudsters are making use of a lack of clarity in Covid vaccine registration to dupe people. The police said people should remain wary of SMSs and phone calls with regard to Covid vaccine registration as scamsters are attempting to collect personal data including Aadhaar card details, and also luring people to click on phishing links.

City Police Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam said several incidents have been reported of people receiving spam messages and calls asking them to enroll their names to receive free doses of the Covid vaccine in other states. “The city police have come out with the warning as a precautionary measure to prevent people from falling into such traps,” he said. 

The warning issued by the police said: “Don’t believe in calls in the name of Covid-19 vaccine registration. Don’t share OTP received on your mobile phone. Don’t share your personal and credit/debit card details with strangers.”

Officials said fraudsters generally make calls to the elderly asking recipients to click on a link to update identity documents as part of the enrolment process. They resort to this modus operandi to lure clueless citizens into an online trap.

Cyber experts said fraudsters use different methods to trap citizens desperate for free Covid vaccination. Usually, they send an SMS first followed by a call asking the recipient to click on a link and share personal details. On clicking the link, an application is downloaded which enables the fraudster to access all data on the phone, including reading the OTPs for banking transactions, an expert said.