'Trap of Data Theft in The Name of Vaccine Registration'

Registration for coronavirus vaccination will be given, a cycle of getting caught in the trap of fancy fraud by making such an offer over the telephone.

It has been alleged that personal information is being snatched from the mobile phones of many people to help in the registration of vaccines, and money from the mobile wallets of many people has disappeared.

The Dhaka Cyber ​​Crime Awareness Foundation has received several complaints in this regard, said its president Kazi Mustafiz.

The cybercrime department of the police has advised everyone to be vigilant in this regard.

When the vaccination program against coronavirus was started in full force in Bangladesh, new allegations of fraud in the name of vaccination came to light.

How the trap of this deception has been laid

Although there has been talking of registering online for the last two weeks to get vaccinated against Covid 19, many have not been able to do so due to server problems.

Again, due to a lack of technical knowledge or necessary devices, it is not possible for many to register.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, a group is calling customers to help them get important information from their mobiles. It has also been alleged that the money in the mobile wallets of many people has been misused by using this sensitive information.

Stealing personal information and passwords in the name of helping to get vaccinated

Vaccine registration for Covid-19 requires customer name, age, phone number, address, voter ID card number, etc.

The fraudsters call and ask for the name of the customer and the number of the voter ID card.

Then they say, 'OTP or one-time password will come to your phone. If you say that, the name will be registered. And you will get the date of vaccination soon. '

Whenever a customer says OTP as they say, the money in their mobile wallets such as bKash, cash, or Rocket account may disappear.

Be careful now - police advice

Not too many people have complained about this yet.

But from now on, in addition to keeping oneself alert, the police are advising to warn everyone known.

Those who are unable to register are being asked by the health department to go to the information officer at the district and Upazila level to register.

In that case, this information can be shared with those officials.

Do not share personal information with strangers

Cybercrime experts say important personal information, such as your voter ID card or OTP, cannot be shared with strangers over the telephone.

After the official launch of coronavirus vaccination in Bangladesh on Sunday, people of different professions and those aged 40 and above are being asked to register online for vaccination.

And the fraudsters are getting into the trap of fraud by focusing on this online vaccine registration.

However, Kazi Mustafiz, president of the Cyber ​​Crime Awareness Foundation, said it was possible to avoid the risk if people were aware of it.

"Do not respond to unfamiliar calls, messages or emails"

Kazi Mustafiz advised people not to respond to such calls of unfamiliar phone calls.

To prevent coronavirus, he said not to respond to any message or email with the message "Click the link below to get vaccinated".

Again, the fraudsters may say that they will send money in advance for booking the vaccine in advance. Mr. has refused to step into all the traps. Mustafiz.

He also said that in addition to embezzling money by stealing your personal information in various ways, fraudsters can do more terrible damage.

Mr. Mustafiz said, "I am Jahalam, not Abu Taleb - you must remember the news where a man named Jahalam was caught in a false case. He was later acquitted. Here the miscreants hanged him using the information of Jahalam's national ID. There are fears. The consequences could be dire. "

"This kind of deception is aimed at any occasion. So be careful at all times."

Source: BBC Bangla