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

In a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, 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 coronavirus map tracking and heat map visuals.

Alhaji Mohammed said the development confirms warnings against cyber criminals 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 and to seek updates on the pandemic only from the appropriate authorities.