Covid Vaccination Alert! Govt Warns Against Fake CoWIN Registration Apps - All You Need To Know

Expressing concern over some miscreants trying to take advantage of the situation, CERT-In has warned the citizens about these fake apps.

(Representative Image/AFP)

New Delhi: With many people facing problems in securing an appointment to get the jab against Covid-19 due to vaccine shortage in the country, the government has issued an advisory against fake CoWIN vaccine registration apps.

Expressing concern over some miscreants trying to take advantage of the situation as some fake vaccine registration apps under the name of CoWIN have surfaced, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has warned the citizens about these fake apps.

The messages supporting the claim of fake apps offer the users to register for the vaccines in India, according to CERT-In team that noted these apps are being spread via SMS.

The message content may differ from each other, however, these messages will ask Android phone users to download APK files to install the registration apps. Pointing out there are five APKs - Covid-19.apk, Vccin-Apply.apk, Cov-Regis.apk, Vaci__Regis.apk and MyVaccin_v2.apk - in total that are malicious, the CERT-In has advised the people not to download them.

The regulator warned of app requesting certain permissions, which will allow the attackers to leverage personal information, adding these fake apps are phishing attempts that can steal users’ passwords and other personal information.

In an attempt to ensure a safe and secure booking option on CoWin portal after several users complained of receiving notification of vaccination does even after they have missed the scheduled appointment, the government had earlier introduced a new 4-digit security code feature on the portal to minimize errors for online bookings/appointments operational from May 8.

All above 18 years of age are eligible to be vaccinated against the Covid-19 infection after their registration digitally on the CoWIN portal or via the Aarogya Setu app.