The Federal Government on Tuesday raised the alarm over the existence of an Android-based malicious and fraudulent coronavirus Ransomware application, which claims to provide updates on COVID-19 and infections near the user.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement by his Special Assistant, Mr Segun Adeyemi,  said the Ransomware blocks access to users’ personal data and accounts and threatens deletion, unless users pay $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 coronavirus 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.

The minister, therefore, called on the general public not to download the Ransomware App and to seek updates on the pandemic only from the appropriate authorities.