After O2 and Covid drugs, fraudsters offering vax booster dose

Earlier, Gurgaon cyber police station had received several complaints related to Covid frauds, wherein residents were cheated by people promising oxygen cylinders, medicines and consultations with doctors.

  • Published On Dec 14, 2021 at 10:15 AM IST
Gurgaon: Online fraudsters have come up with a new way to cheat people — this time in the name of Covid vaccine booster dose. Police said the fraudsters are calling people posing as representatives of the health department and asking people to register for a booster dose. They allegedly tell residents that the government has decided to give booster doses in the wake of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV2 and take money on the pretext of registration.

Earlier, Gurgaon cyber police station had received several complaints related to Covid frauds, wherein residents were cheated by people promising oxygen cylinders, medicines and consultations with doctors.

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Sumar Kumar, a resident of Sector 12, said he received a call from a person identifying himself as a representative of the health department last week. “The caller told me that due to the Omicron variant and fear of a third wave of Covid, the government has launched a scheme for giving booster doses. They took my vaccination and other personal details,” he said.

Kumar suspected something was amiss when he was asked to make a payment of Rs 5,000 for registration to avail the booster dose. He refused to pay and instead filed a police complaint.

Police officers said fraudsters keep on coming up with new ways to cheat people. The cons constantly scan social media for those looking for Covid resources and contact them, they said.

“When the Prime Minister made an appeal during the first wave of Covid-19 to the public to make donations to the PM CARES fund, fraudsters started cheating people by circulating details of fake bank accounts for donations. During the lockdowns, fraudsters cheated people in the name of providing oxygen cylinders and other Covid resources,” police spokesperson Subhash Boken said.

Talking about the ways to avoid such frauds, he said people should not blindly believe in such random calls. “Cross-check with government authorities about any scheme. People should not fall for such traps and verify the information before making any payment,” Boken added.

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These frauds are carried out by the same set of people with expertise in online frauds, police said. They keep on changing their mobile numbers and methods of cheating. “Initial investigations traced most of these numbers to online fraud hubs like Jamtara, Bharatpur and Nuh, which are infamous for online banking and other frauds,” said an officer from the cyber police station.
  • Published On Dec 14, 2021 at 10:15 AM IST
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