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Ministry gets fake website charging ₹4K to ₹6K for Covid-19 vaccines blocked
The ministry said a case has been registered against the site which impersonated health ministry's official website and was charging ₹4,000 to ₹6,000 for vaccines.
A fake website impersonating the official website of the ministry of health and family welfare claiming to offer vaccines against Covid-19 has come to the notice of the ministry and it has been immediately blocked to stop the spread of misinformation regarding India's vaccination process. The health ministry on Friday said a case has been registered against the site and investigation is on. "Please be cautious. Do not fall prey to such fraudulent websites," the ministry said on its official Twitter handle.
The fake website replicated the health ministry's Covid-19 dashboard and introduced a fraudulent link asking users to click for 'appointment for vaccination'. The website also reportedly mentioned a price between ₹4,000 and ₹6,000
The ministry has time and again clarified that apart from Co-WIN and Aarogya Setu app, there is no other website or application for vaccine registration.
This is not the first time that fraudulent activities surrounding the vaccination process came to the notice of the authorities. Before the Co-WIN app was launched, fraudulent apps with the same name cropped up to guile people. Such activities are likely to pick up pace as India starts to vaccinate people above 50 years as there is an option of self-registration in that phase.
The vaccination drive in India began on January 16, starting with healthcare staff and now dovetailing into the phase where other frontline staff are being inoculated. All these beneficiaries have been pre-registered with the Co-WIN app based on the data provided by the state governments. For the next phase where people above 50 years of age will be vaccinated, data have been sourced from local authorities and electoral rolls. But one can also self-register and this leeway is likely to be exploited by fraudsters.
