"The pedulilindungiq.com site is a fake site and not used by the government in handling COVID-19. All content and information in the pedulilindungiq.com site is not related to pedulilindungi.id and is not related to the government's efforts in handling COVID-19 in any shape or form," the Communication and Information Technology Ministry's spokesman, Dedy Permadi, told ANTARA on Wednesday.
The official website for matters pertaining to COVID-19 is Pedulilindungi.id, and the government does not charge any fee to use the site.
The Communication and Information Technology Ministry had warned that the fake site pedulilindungiq.com requires users to pay Rp 1,000,000 (around US$70) to register for the COVID-19 vaccination program.
"The PeduliLindungi application and the official pedulilindungi.id website do not charge users for any reason, including for vaccine registration," Permadi pointed out.
The site also features the official PeduliLindung logo, image, and theme. Currently, Kominfo has cut off access to the pedulilindungiq.com site.
The ministry has urged the public to only access the Pedulilindungi.id official website and use the PeduliLindungi official application on the Google Play Store and Apple Play Store.
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"We also urge the public to always beware of any disinformation related to fake sites and applications that (pose as) the PeduliLindungi application," he added.
The ministry has also necessitated people to report any other faux PeduliLindungi sites or application, should they find any, to aduankonten.id or other official reporting channels.
They also discovered a fake website called pedulilindungia.com last month that also replicated the logo and appearance of the official PeduliLindungi website.
In order to avoid downloading the wrong PeduliLindungi application on the Google Play Store or App Store, people must ensure that the application is issued by the Communication and Information Technology Ministry.
Moreover, they should visit the developer contact section before downloading, as the Kominfo office address and the ministry's email address are listed there.
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Translator: Natisha A, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
