Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The federal government has alerted Nigerians to the existence of an Android-based malicious and fraudulent COVID-19 Ransomware Application, which claims to provide updates on the virus and infections near the user.

In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the Ransomware blocks access to users’ personal data and accounts and threatens deletion, unless users pay one hundred US dollars ($100) in Bitcoin within 48 hours.

He said the Ransomware App, detected on the website www.coronavirusapp.site, prompts users to download an Android App purportedly for COVID-19 map tracking and heat map visuals.

Mohammed said the development confirmed warnings against cybercriminals seeking to exploit the growing spread of the virus for nefarious gains.

He, therefore, called on the general public not to download the Ransomware App, urging them to seek updates on the pandemic only from the appropriate authorities.