Amid the vaccination drive for senior citizens that kickstarted on March 1, a new cybercrime has come to light, wherein a scam targeting seniors is rife. In this scam, a fraudster poses as an officer of the Drug Authority of India and informs that they have been chosen for vaccination and seek their personal details for allocation of doses, thereby taking their Aadhaar number, OTP and siphoning off their money.
According to a senior Cyber official, the scamster calls senior citizens and tells them that they have been selected for the COVID-19 vaccination drive, but to confirm their appointment, the applicant must share the Aadhaar number with them. After the senior shares the Aadhaar number, they receive a One Time Password (OTP), which the scamster seeks to 'authenticate' the registration and siphons off a large amount from their earnings.
The government also alerted people against such fraudsters "Some #Fraudsters claiming to be from Drug Authority of India are calling senior citizens to confirm their Aadhaar and OTP for #COVID19Vaccine allocation. It is an act of miscreants. Never disclose OTP and personal details to such tele callers" the PIB fact check had said in a tweet.
Police officials have also cautioned the citizens to keep away from such scams and not fall prey to these baits. If anybody receives a call from an unknown person who asks for your personal, banking details, please inform the local police or cyber police, who will probe the matter.
