Beware: Fake COVID-19 vaccination registration scam comes to light

As India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive moves forward amidst the country’s second wave of new cases, new issues have surfaced. As millions of people have been registering themselves for Covid-19 vaccination, fraudsters and hackers have found new ways to trap them.

People are registering for vaccination through CoWin app or the website. However, a fraudulent network of fraudsters registering by stealing the number of identification documents including Aadhaar.

In a case that has come to light, Ajith, a resident of Punalur in Kerala, was trying to register for his father and mother on the CoWin portal for vaccination. However, to his shock found out that someone had already registered on the portal using the Aadhaar information of his parents. It did not end there. Ajith also found that his and his brother's Aadhaar numbers had been misused in a similar manner.

We also tried to find out if the claim was right. The incident is true. You can register on the CoWin portal using eight identification documents, including Aadhaar, PAN card and voter ID. But there may not be any connection between the number of the identity document being registered and the person registering.  

Ajith and his family registered on the CoWin portal as they had other identification documents besides Aadhar. But the question arises as to how many of the millions of ordinary people in this country who only have one identity document may not have been able to register for the vaccine because of this fraud. If the passport number of an expatriate is misused in this way, even the return journey of that person with the vaccine certificate, which includes the passport number, may be interrupted.  

According to officials, the facility of verifying the authenticity of each identity document registered on the portal will lead to further complexity. They said that the vaccine will be given at the vaccination center only after verifying the identification document used when registering on the portal.

NOTE: Asianet News humbly requests everyone to wear masks, sanitize, maintain social distancing and get vaccinated as soon as eligible. Together we can and will break the chain #ANCares #IndiaFightsCorona
 

• COVID-19
• registration
• scam
• vaccination
• information