Aadhaar Card Fraud Alert: The importance of Aadhaar card in today’s time can be gauged from the fact that without it many of our important works cannot be completed. Whether it is to take advantage of any government scheme or to open an account in a bank, Aadhaar card is required everywhere.
That is why we give a copy of our Aadhaar card at these places. In such a situation, there is also a fear that the Aadhaar may fall into the hands of a wrong person or a fraudster. Your fear is justified. Because cyber criminals are always looking for new ways to commit online fraud, such as sending fake links through messages, calls or other means. Well, you are already aware of these methods.
In the last few years, as government agencies have become more vigilant to prevent cyber crimes, criminals have also found more advanced ways to commit fraud. Now they have found a new way to empty your bank account. Hackers can now steal money from people’s bank accounts without calling, asking for OTP or sending fake links.
Can your bank account be emptied due to Aadhaar number?
Although, they cannot hack your bank account just by knowing the Aadhaar number, but according to many media reports, hackers are now stealing money from bank accounts using AePS, which is a service started by the government for the convenience of the public. Let us tell you what AePS is and how hackers are using AePS to steal money from bank accounts.
Also Read: Public Holiday: Banks and schools will remain closed on 24-25 and 26 August
What is Aadhaar Card Enabled Payment System (AePS)?
AePS, or Aadhaar-enabled Payment System, allows users to withdraw money from their bank accounts using Aadhaar cards and biometrics. Users whose bank accounts are linked to Aadhaar cards and enabled for AePS can withdraw money without a cheque book or ATM card. However, the Reserve Bank has set a limit for such transactions.
This is how scam can happen through Aadhar card
Hackers have found a new way to cheat people by stealing their information and using AePS to steal money from their bank accounts. To carry out this fraud, these scammers first obtain land allotment papers from government offices, which contain people’s fingerprints. They steal fingerprints from these documents for biometric verification. Once they have a person’s Aadhaar card number and biometric details, it becomes very easy for them to withdraw money from his bank account.
How to protect yourself from such scams
To protect themselves from falling prey to this new type of scam, users must keep their Aadhaar card safe. So avoid sharing your Aadhaar card with anyone. If you are giving your Aadhaar card for any work, then you should always use the Masked Aadhaar card. The full Aadhaar card number is not visible in the masked Aadhaar card. Apart from this, you can share the Virtual ID (VID) instead of the Aadhaar card number. To generate masked Aadhaar and VID, you can visit the official website of UIDAI.
Lock biometric data
Since AePS is enabled by default for all Aadhaar card holders and biometric data is also unlocked by default, users need to disable it to stay safe. If you want to disable AePS and lock your Aadhaar card’s biometric data, first download the mAadhaar app on your smartphone. After this, use the mobile number linked to your Aadhaar to sign up. Then after verifying all your Aadhaar details, select the option to lock your biometric using the app.
Remember that you can also unlock the biometric using this app whenever you need. There is also an option to lock the Aadhaar number on this app.
