Criminals impersonate healthcare organizations via email or call.
Be careful if you receive a supposed message informing you of a new dose of the COVID vaccine
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This Christmas you should be very careful with the new COVID dose scam. It is dangerous because It has several variants and is capable of stealing your passwords, personal information and control of WhatsApp. The National Police has warned about it, indicating that some criminals impersonate the Ministry of Health through email messages, phone calls or SMS, and inform the victims that they have been chosen to receive a new dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
This is how the new COVID dose scam works
The problem with the scam is that it has several variants. The most basic is email. You receive an email that has a link, which—when clicked—automatically downloads a malicious ZIP file. This downloads automatically, and is capable of damaging your device and stealing personal information.
If you have already downloaded it, do not run it. Delete it and disinfect the device. If you have an antivirus installed, you will be more protected, but do not relax your precautions. If you don’t have one, you can use one of these 9 programs. Of course, don’t forward it; In fact, it is best to delete the email quickly.
Be careful with this type of email
The scam has also been carried out using the 6-digit method, which we already talked about previously. The criminals communicate with the victim through a call in which they impersonate the Ministry of Health, or the recurring health authority. During the call, they ask the victim to tell them the 6-digit code that they just received by SMS to confirm the vaccination reservation, or with a similar excuse.
The code is not to confirm any reservation, it is the WhatsApp authentication code. It is sent by the messaging platform when you try to access it from an unusual device. What criminals do is try to access your account from a computer, mobile phone or other device by registering your number on it, and to obtain the code and access your account, they request it by calling you.
How to protect yourself from the new COVID dose scam
The first thing to keep in mind is that this scam It does not imply that health organizations will not contact you to give you a new dose. What they do is impersonate them. Therefore, the best vaccine against scams is to only respond to their official channels and be suspicious of strange requests.
The criminals are very prepared, but We can stop them if we take the following precautions:
- Never share the 6-digit WhatsApp code
- Never run strange files
- Requires identification before communication from a health organization
- Do not follow immediate orders
- Contact health officials if you have any questions
- Never forward these types of messages
- Warn your loved ones about the proliferation of these types of scams
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2023-12-13 14:58:45
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