Delhi Police busts gang cheating people via fake CoWIN portal
Delhi Police has busted a gang which was stealing money from peoples' accounts using online fraud after asking them to register on fake link for vaccine registration.
Delhi Police has busted a gang which was stealing money from peoples' accounts using online fraud after asking them to register on fake link for vaccine registration.
The fraudsters were sending a link via an SMS for registration of Covid vaccine. The link was landing users on a page that looked very similar to government's CoWin portal.
Fraudsters used to send fake links to take advantage of people who were having difficulty in registering and scheduling slot. But as soon as a user was clicking on that link send via SMS, fraudsters would withdraw money from their bank accounts once a user was sharing their details.
After the complaint, Delhi Police's cyber crime DCP Anyesh Roy registered a case and members of the gang were arrested.
ALSO READ | Delhi records 3,009 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, positivity rate drops to 4.76%
DCP Anyesh Roy has advised people not to fall for these fake links and book slots via authentic government Covid portal which is — cowin.gov.in or through the Aarogya Setu app.
ALSO READ | DRDO develops Covid-19 antibody detection kit 'DIPCOVAN'
The two people who have been arrested hail from Siliguri and Uttarakhand. The fraudsters created a similar site like the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and looted people by cheating them with amounts like Rs 1,000 to Rs 6,000 rupees.
Following the complaint of fake sites running in the name of getting a vaccine slot, the cyber cell advised people to block them and remain aware and also to book slots only through the official website.
This was not the first time when fraudsters tried to take advantage and cheating people given the pandemic situation in the country. Even before this, many gangs have been active and took advantage of peoples' situation.