Ayushman Health Card Enrolment Scam by SMS

How it looks by SMS, the red flags and what to do.

A text message is the cheapest way for a scammer to reach thousands of phones at once, and the sender name can look like a bank, a courier or a government office. Ayushman Health Card Enrolment Scam is one of the ways this shows up: Someone offers to make your Ayushman or free-treatment health card for a fee or an OTP. See how fake camps and agents collect money and documents.

What ayushman health card enrolment scam looks like by SMS

• A very short message with a deadline such as "today" or "within 24 hours".
• A shortened or oddly spelled link that does not match the real website.
• A request to call a number, install an app or share an OTP.

The agent sets up a table in a market or sends a flyer saying that enrolment closes soon. He uses the name of a known scheme and a printed card with a logo. People are asked for each family member's Aadhaar copy, a phone number and a fee for 'printing and registration', which sounds small compared with hospital costs.

Red flags to check on the text message

• A fee to make a government health card.
• An OTP requested over the phone to finish an eKYC.
• Documents of the whole family collected by an unofficial camp.
• A flyer or page with no official portal or scheme office address.
• It promises a refund, prize or cashback you never asked for.
• It tells you to install an app from a link instead of the official store.

What to do

1. Do not pay or share an OTP. Check eligibility only on the official scheme portal or helpline listed on the government site.
2. Visit the nearest government hospital help desk or common service centre to ask.
3. Avoid handing Aadhaar copies to unofficial camps.
4. Paste the text into a scam checker (Safeavio Sentinel can check it) before you do anything else.
5. Report the sender on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) and block the number.
6. Delete the message and tell family members who may get the same text.

You can report suspicious SMS and calls on the Sanchar Saathi portal (Chakshu facility) of the Department of Telecommunications.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Report any payment to 1930 and at cybercrime.gov.in.
2. Lock your Aadhaar biometrics on the official service and watch for new SIM cards or loans.
3. Call your bank on the number on your card if you shared card or bank details.
4. Write down the name, date and place where documents were handed in and tell the police.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Safeavio's scam check can read a pasted message and point out the fee, the OTP request and the false deadline, and the link check can warn about a lookalike registration page. Money Shield gives a short checklist before sending any fee. It cannot tell you whether you are eligible for a scheme or whether a printed card is valid, which must be confirmed at the official hospital desk or portal.

Full guide: Ayushman Health Card Enrolment Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: phone call, WhatsApp, social media.

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