scam to steal mobile data

A nurse administers a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

alert of scam with the fourth dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 to steal personal data. Telephone scams are becoming more widespread and the latest has been alerted by the health authorities, who warn of a type of call in which criminals pose as professionals from the Ministry of Health to make victims believe that they have to make an appointment for the fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The presumed health call those affected directly on their mobile phone, regardless of whether the user has received the rest of the vaccines or belongs to the group that is already being inoculated with the booster dose. By knowing the personal data of the victim, such as his name, address, email and her mobile phone number, they avoid any type of suspicion that could give them away.

The scam continues in the event that the affected person gives credibility to the call and follows the instructions provided by the criminals, since the next step will be to receive an SMS on their phone with a code that they must provide to the scammers. If this action happens, there is a possibility that they can access all the information on the mobile of the victims, being able to steal banking information, passwords and personal information of the owner of the device, among other things.

Given the multiple calls of this type received by citizens, the regional health authorities have begun a campaign to remember that they do not ask for personal data over the phone and that vaccination against Covid-19 with the fourth dose has not yet started. This has been explained by the Department of Health of Catalonia on its Twitter account to avoid falling into this type of scam.

The same authorities recommend that in case of receiving a call of this type, it is best to hang up the phone immediately. In case of any doubt that may arise about the booster dose against covid, it is best to contact the health center directly and make sure when it is time to receive the new dose.

When will I be able to receive the fourth dose?

In June, the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, reported the vaccination campaign of the fourth dose for “the entire population”, but without an official date for its start. “We have already given the fourth dose to immunocompromised people and, shortly, vaccination will begin to be assessed in other groups, for example for those over 80 years of age,” she added.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended the fourth dose of the covid vaccine for people between 60 and 79 years old in the face of the increase in infections and the growing number of admissions.

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