Keep an eye on scammers posing as Cipla representatives: Mumbai Police

As urgent appeals for Covid beds, oxygen, and medicines continue to pour on social media feeds, whereas the reports of rampant black marketing, fraud, and hoarding of critical medical supplies have also grown.

Since the beginning of March, the nation has seen a rapid upsurge in the death rate. Sequentially, scammers have taken to social media, infiltrating lists of legitimate resources that have been shared in response to distress calls. And, m Many have also defrauded people in need of capital.

On Friday, The Mumbai Police Department issued a public alert, warning people not to be duped by cyber-fraudsters posing as Cipla members on social media sites and offering remdesivir and tocilizumab, two main drugs used to treat Covid-19.

In this case, Cipla Pharmaceuticals has filed a formal complaint with the Mumbai Cyber Police.

According to police, cyber-fraudsters posing as Cipla distributors are posting their phone numbers on social media sites. They added that after people call them, they collect an advance payment for the drugs and then cut off all contact with the victims.

In a statement, Mumbai Police said, “The Central Govt. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare/Department of Pharmaceuticals ordered all India Supply of Remdesivir & Tocilizumab to be only through authorized Government & private hospitals. No individual, distributor or retail can sell these medicines to the public.”

“Please be careful of scammers (falsely pretending to be Cipla sanctioned or a representative of the Cipla Firm) proposing supply basis advance online payments,” the statement continued. "If you are contacted for such a transaction, do not move any funds and immediately report the activity to the local police/cyber-crime unit.”