Omicron-Themed Cybercrimes Increasing, Warns Home Ministry. Fraudsters Offering Free Test To Lure Victims

"The lure of a free Omicron PCR test allowing citizens to avoid Omicron-related restrictions imposed by governments is presented to potential victims," the advisory states.

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New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday issued an advisory warning about cybercriminals targeting potential victims by offering them free tests for detecting the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

This comes as India is witnessing a surge in Coronavirus cases along with the spike in infections caused by the Omicron variant.

In its advisory, the cyber and information security division of MHA has stated that "Cybercriminals are taking advantage of lowering of cyber defences due to the shift of focus to the health crisis. Cybercriminals are always finding new ways to defraud citizens. As nowadays Omicron variant-themed cybercrimes are increasing every day. Cybercriminals are employing various tactics to perpetrate cybercrimes to capitalize on the rapidly evolving situation to defraud innocent victims." 

It mentioned that Cybercriminals send emails regarding PCR testing for Omicron with the attached malicious links and malicious files, news agency ANI reported.

"Government and Private Health Services are being mimicked (e.g. their names are used as senders) in such attempts to scam innocent citizens. Potential victims clicking on the links are pointed towards fake websites created by fraudsters that look similar to government/private health services, where citizens can apply for a COVID-19 Omicron PCR test," the cyber and information security division informed.

Furthermore, according to the advisory, "the lure of a free Omicron PCR test allowing citizens to avoid Omicron-related restrictions imposed by governments is presented to potential victims. Cybercriminals attain personal details and banking credentials through this method for committing further cybercrimes such as financial cyber frauds, identity theft, etc".

People have been advised to scrutinise the domain name and URL to check the authenticity of suspicious websites and report any such incidents on the cybercrime.gov.in portal.

(With Agency Inputs)