Is it true that pressing "1" on a vaccination call gets your phone blocked and your money stolen?

Is it true that pressing "1" on a vaccination call gets your phone blocked and your money stolen?

Checked · updated

Translated from Russian. Original

Rumor: A warning is being forwarded in messaging apps: a robot calls, asks whether you are vaccinated and tells you to press "1" (or "2"). After you press, your phone supposedly gets hacked or blocked and money is taken from linked cards.

1. Verdict

Fake

Pressing a key during a call gives the caller no access to your phone, bank or cards. That would require installing a malicious app or handing over codes and passwords yourself. Police in India checked the number from the very first version of the warning: it does not exist, and nobody received calls from it. The real danger is different: pressing shows that your number is live and may connect you to a scammer who will try to get your details.

Moderate: police in India, a mobile operator in Ukraine, Kazakhstan's cybersecurity service and fact-checkers in three countries independently say the same thing. But we read their statements only as reported by media and fact-checkers: we could not open the original police and agency posts.

2. Claims and facts

  • «If you press "1" during the call, your phone will be hacked or blocked»False

    No. A Vodafone Ukraine spokesperson: during a call the caller has no access to your smartphone, whatever you press; access appears only if you install a malicious app or open an infected file. Kazakhstan's cybersecurity service (KZ-CERT): "it is impossible to take over a phone through a call." Brazilian fact-checker Boatos.org says the same.[7][5][2]

  • «After you press, money will be taken from linked cards»False

    Pressing a key does not take money. Scammers can steal money over the phone only if a person tells them SMS codes, passwords or card details, or installs an app at their request. KZ-CERT stresses: the risk exists if codes and login details have already been handed over.[5][2]

  • «The calls come from a specific number (912250041117 in the Indian version, 95004-1117 in the Brazilian one)»False

    In April 2021 the Hyderabad (India) cybercrime police checked 912250041117 and reported that the number does not exist and nobody had received calls from it. The Brazilian number 95004-1117, according to Boatos.org, does not look like a real Brazilian mobile number.[3][2]

  • «The scam is already active and police are warning about it»False

    Ukraine's National Police said no such scam exists; police in the Khmelnytskyi district reported no such complaints. Fact-checkers found no confirmed case in any country.[9][8][4]

  • «Answering such calls and pressing buttons is unsafe»Partly

    Partly true, but for a different reason. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns that pressing buttons on a robocall will probably only lead to more calls, because it tells callers the number is live. Pressing may also connect you to a live scammer who will try to get your details.[11][12]

3. Where the rumor came from

  • WhatsApp, India · en

    First version found: a call from 912250041117 "hacks" the phone after you press "1". Hyderabad cybercrime police call the message a hoax the same day.[3]

  • ≈ PIB Fact Check (Government of India) · en

    India's government fact-checking service calls the number fake and gives the real number for vaccination feedback: 1921.[4]

  • WhatsApp, Kazakhstan · ru

    The warning reaches Kazakhstan. KZ-CERT and Stopfake.kz explain that a phone cannot be taken over by a call.[5]

  • Channel 31, Informburo.kz · ru

    Kazakh media retell the scheme as real, citing a lawyer and a police officer from Karaganda, but give no specific cases.[6]

  • Viber and other messaging apps, Ukraine · uk

    A wave in Ukraine. Police and a mobile operator deny it; the project "Behind the Ukraine News" and VoxCheck call the message fake.[7][8][1]

  • 2022WhatsApp, Brazil · pt

    The Brazilian version adds Pix (the instant payment system): "press 2" and the money leaves via Pix.[2]

  • WhatsApp, Pakistan · en

    The same message with the Indian number circulates in Pakistan; SOCH Fact Check debunks it.[4]

  • The Hans India · en

    An Indian newspaper again retells the "keypress hack" as a real threat, without citing police or cases.[10]

  • WhatsApp and Facebook, Brazil · pt

    Another comeback with the number 95004-1117 (after earlier ones in 2023, 2024 and 2025). Boatos.org debunks it again.[2]

How the text changed

  1. 2021, India: vaccine feedback call, "press 1" and your phone is hacked
  2. → + Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Russia: the phone gets "blocked", cards are at risk
  3. → + Kazakhstan: "press a digit depending on whether you are vaccinated"
  4. → 2022, Brazil: "press 2" and theft via Pix
  5. → 2023–2026: the same text returns with the number 95004-1117

4. What the media say

  • Telangana Today (India)Debunks

    Hyderabad cybercrime police: the number does not exist, no calls came from it, no need to panic.[3]

  • VoxCheck (VoxUkraine), Lviv.Media, Ye!Debunks

    Fake. Mobile operator and police: a phone cannot be blocked by a call; there were no such complaints.[1][7][8][9]

  • inAktau (Kazakhstan), citing KZ-CERT and Stopfake.kzDebunks

    A phone cannot be taken over by a call; the risk exists only if you handed over codes yourself.[5]

  • Boatos.org (Brazil)Debunks

    Has debunked the rumor several years in a row; in April 2026, false again.[2]

  • SOCH Fact Check (Pakistan)Debunks

    Collects debunks from India, Pakistan and Brazil; no signs of a real scam.[4]

  • Informburo.kz, The Hans IndiaRepeats

    Retell the "keypress hack" as a real threat, without specific cases or figures.[6][10]

  • FTC (USA)Context

    Don't press buttons on robocalls: it leads to more calls.[11]

5. Social media

  • WhatsApp, Viber, FacebookPanic

    The rumor lives in forwarded messages, not public posts, so its reach can't be counted. SOCH Fact Check found it in India, Pakistan, Brazil, Russia and Arabic-speaking countries.[4][2]

6. Signs of manipulation

  • Unverifiable source. The message is forwarded without an author or a link to police; Hyderabad police checked the number and it does not exist.
  • Call to forward. The warning spreads as chain messages on WhatsApp and Viber, according to SOCH Fact Check and VoxCheck.
  • A specific detail for credibility. The number 912250041117 or 95004-1117; neither turned out to be a real source of calls.
  • Tied to a real topic. COVID vaccination was really happening, and India did have a real government vaccine feedback line: 1921.

7. Similar rumors in the past

  • Robocall: "press 1 to speak to an operator, or 2 to be removed from the list"2013

    Outcome: A real practice of US phone spammers: pressing shows the number is live, and calls increase. No hacking.[12][11]

  • Kazakhstan: scammers ask about vaccination and then get bank access through a virus

    Outcome: Media retold it citing a lawyer and a police officer but gave no specific cases; the scheme mixes up a call and a virus sent by SMS.[6]

  • Calls "from Russia's Social Fund" about internet compensation asking for an SMS code

    Outcome: A real scheme: money is stolen not by a keypress but through a code the person says out loud.

In common with past rumors

  • A scary "forward to everyone" warning with no source
  • A technically impossible way of theft — a single action
  • A specific phone number to seem credible
  • Tied to a topic everyone is talking about (vaccination)

What is new

  • The same text has travelled across countries and languages for years
  • Only the digit ("1" or "2"), the number and the theft method (card, Pix) change
  • Behind the false fear is a real but different risk: robocalls really do lead to scammers

9. What to do

  • If a robot asks you to press a digit, don't press it and hang up. Your phone won't be hacked, but you'll get more calls, and pressing may connect you to a scammer.
  • Never give SMS codes, passwords or card details over the phone, and don't install apps a caller asks you to — that is how money is actually stolen.
  • If you already pressed, there's nothing to worry about. If you gave a code or card details, call your bank right away using the number on your card and block it.
  • If you receive this warning, don't forward it; better explain the real danger to your relatives.

10. What we could not verify

  • We could not open the VoxCheck (VoxUkraine) article itself — the site blocked our tool; its publication date is taken from other Ukrainian media of the same week and may differ.
  • We did not open the PIB Fact Check and Telangana State Police posts on X — we know of them from Telangana Today and SOCH Fact Check.
  • We could not find the date of Ukraine's National Police statement on vsim.ua.
  • We found no fresh posts with this rumor in November 2026; the last confirmed wave was in Brazil, April 2026.
  • The Brazilian versions from 2023–2025 are cited according to Boatos.org; we did not open them ourselves.
  • Kazakh media in 2021 mentioned "dozens" of complaints to lawyers in Karaganda; we found no confirmation of this.

11. Sources

  1. VoxCheck — FAKE: scammers will block your phone if you press 1 · accessed 2026.11.06
  2. Boatos.org — "vaccine scam" with pressing 2 and Pix (01.04.2026) · accessed 2026.11.06
  3. Telangana Today — WhatsApp message on hacked phone is hoax, say cops (26.04.2021) · accessed 2026.11.06
  4. SOCH Fact Check — a call from 912250041117 does not hack your phone (28.07.2022) · accessed 2026.11.06
  5. inAktau — another fake: scammers block vaccinated people's phones (19.08.2021) · accessed 2026.11.06
  6. Informburo.kz — scammers ask about vaccination (10.09.2021) · accessed 2026.11.06
  7. Lviv.Media — a new vaccination fake spreads online (17.09.2021) · accessed 2026.11.06
  8. Ye! — they ask about vaccination and block your smartphone: another fake (17.09.2021) · accessed 2026.11.06
  9. vsim.ua — police describe a new fake · accessed 2026.11.06
  10. The Hans India — Fraudsters' new way to loot public (27.12.2022) · accessed 2026.11.06
  11. FTC — Robocalls (consumer advice) · accessed 2026.11.06
  12. Consumer Reports (Consumerist) — don't press any buttons on scammy robocalls (2013) · accessed 2026.11.06

#scams#phone calls#vaccination#bank card#WhatsApp

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