Don’t fall for ‘pay and register’ scheme for Covid-19 vaccine, alerts Centre

Users should not click on any malicious links, mail, message offering Covid-19 vaccine, the cyber security wing of the home ministry has said.

With the first vaccine getting a go-ahead for emergency use anytime in India now, the cyber safety wing of the Union home ministry has issued a warning against fraudulent offers on vaccine. Any malicious link, email, message or phone call offering priority to receive Covid-19 vaccine is fraud. “Due to apprehension associated with COVID-19, Cyber criminals are playing various tricks. They may offer to “pay and register” in getting priority to receive first CORONA VACCINE, through malicious link, mail, message or phone call. Be aware otherwise you may get defrauded,” the Centre has said.

A medic demonstrates administration of COVAXIN, an Indian government-backed experimental Covid-19 vaccine, to a health worker during its trials, at Tezpur in Assam. (PTI)

The Centre has drawn up a plan for vaccination in which the vaccine will be offered first to to healthcare workers, frontline workers and to people above 50 years of age, followed by persons younger than 50 years of age with associated co-morbidities. State and local authorities have already registered these people. The latest electoral roll for Lok Sabha and legislative assembly election will be used to identify population aged 50 years or more.

Twenty-three ministries and departments of the Centre and states have been identified and assigned roles (planning, implementation, social mobilization, awareness generation etc.) for vaccine roll out. A total of 29,000 cold chain points, 240 walk-in coolers, 70 walk-in freezers, 45000 ice-lined refrigerators, 41000 deep freezers and 300 solar refrigerators will be used for the Covid-19 vaccine storage.

Incidents of fraudsters already on prowl have been reported sporadically. In Madhya Pradesh, calls were made to people asking them to pay Rs 500 and register for vaccine. “Fraudsters from Haryana, Hyderabad and Telangana are targeting people on the pretext of registration for Covid-19 vaccine. We are creating awareness among people and asking them not to share any OTP and download any app for registration,” said MP cyber cell additional superintendent of police Rajat Sakhlecha.