Virtual scams have exploded in Argentina since the start of the pandemic. Between 2019 and 2020, they increased by more than 3,000% according to the authorities. They are particularly linked to the campaign ...

In Argentina, cyber scams linked to the anti-Covid vaccine explode

The Covid-19 vaccination campaign is launched in Argentina: a woman receives the Sputnik V vaccine on February 19, 2020 in Buenos Aires.

REUTERS - AGUSTIN MARCARIAN

Text by: Théo Conscience Follow

4 min

Virtual scams have exploded in Argentina since the start of the pandemic.

Between 2019 and 2020, they increased by more than 3,000% according to the authorities.

They are particularly linked to the vaccination campaign.

Publicity

With our correspondent in Buenos Aires,

The

pandemic

unfortunately seems to be a source of inspiration for cyber offenders. First, it is the scams

related to the increase in online commerce

or those associated with the cancellation of airline tickets due to the pandemic that have increased. Now, scammers are taking advantage of the vaccination campaign. These scams have become "

common

" in Argentina in recent weeks, warns the unit of the national prosecution specializing in cyber delinquency.

How do scammers work?

A hacker calls a person posing as a Ministry of Health official to offer to make an appointment to receive the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The cyber-offender then warns his victim that she will receive a code by SMS, and that she must send him to continue the registration.

Except that in reality, the code allows to activate the WhatsApp account of the victim on another device in the hands of the hacker.

The latter can then take control of this instant messaging account, this is called

phishing, or phishing.

Extract money from relatives of the victim

Once they have control over this account, they have access to the entire address book of their victims, but above all they can usurp their identity.

Argentines who have fallen into this trap tell that cyber delinquents have contacted their friends and family members in order to extract money from them under the pretext of an emergency situation.

This is what happened to a member of the province of Rio Negro, in central Argentina.

Thanks to this technique, the hackers managed to collect 100,000 pesos (about 1,000 euros) from his contacts.

It is possible to recover your account by contacting WhatsApp technical support, but often by the time the problem is resolved, the damage is already done.

Protect your personal information

To identify their target, namely people waiting for a second dose of vaccine, hackers take advantage of practices that the pandemic has brought about.

Since the start of the vaccination campaign, many Argentines do not hesitate to proudly display their vaccination record on social networks after being inoculated with the vaccine.

These freely accessible photos are a mine of information for malicious people.

We can find there the name, the first name, the date of birth of the person, the date of the injection of the first dose or the brand of the vaccine used… As much data that the hackers will use when they contact their victims to gain their trust.

The Argentine authorities therefore recall that information related to vaccines is confidential and recommend not to share this kind of photo on social networks or at least to take the time to redact personal information.

► To read also: Coronavirus: with the pandemic, scams and scams are flourishing

In Argentina, cyber scams linked to the anti-Covid vaccine explode

In Argentina, cyber scams linked to the anti-Covid vaccine explode

Extract money from relatives of the victim

Protect your personal information

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