by Suman Gupta
An Aadhaar Card is one of the most important government documents as it holds information about your address, full name, and your photo. With Aadhaar now being digital and connected to your other documents, it’s vital to take care of your Aadhaar information and details of the connected documents. There’s also the Aadhar Enabled Payment System (APES), which is a payment service that allows a bank’s customer to use Aadhar identity to access their bank account, check their bank balance and do basic things.
The most recent frauds are about the latter, where scammers can steal users’ most essential data without needing an OTP or password. The recent scam in Kolkata was a demo of this type of fraud.
For the unversed, a few people were arrested recently in a bank-related Aadhaar fraud in Kolkata. The fraudsters impersonated genuine bank account holders and managed to obtain confidential information, including bank account details and the Aadhaar card number. Reportedly, they also withdrew money with fake fingerprints.
Kolkata Police stated that the fingerprints and other data were gathered from different public domains and websites. The Police also requested the state Finance Department to conceal users’ data like biometrics and Aadhaar details, which were reportedly extracted from property deeds or other documents uploaded on the government’s property registration website.
Following this incident, Kolkata Police and SBI alerted people and told them to lock their Aadhaar with biometrics to prevent unauthorized account access. It is confirmed that after they lock their Aadhaar with biometrics, no one can use their Aadhaar number for any tasks, including bank-related tasks.
Having said that, everyone should lock their Aadhar card with biometrics right away for safety. Follow the steps below to do exactly that. In reference to the same, Techlusive.in published a step-by-step guide on how to stay safe from the ongoing Aadhaar fraud.
How to lock Aadhaar biometric online
- Visit the UIDAI website – https://resident.uidai.gov.in/bio-lock
- Scroll down and tap on Lock/Unlock Aadhaar option.
- Tap on Next tab after seeing the instructions.
- In the Lock Aadhar section, type your VID number – To get the VID number, SMS ‘RVID<space>Last four digits of Aadhaar’ (RVID 1234) from your registered mobile number.
- Now, enter Name, Pincode, Captcha and click on Send OTP
- Enter the OTP and continue. Now, your Aadhaar is locked and it cannot be used for biometric authentication.
- Users can also easily lock their Aadhaar from the mAadhaar app. To do that, download the app and log in. Then, tap on the three dots on the top corner and look for the lock biometrics option. Tap on it and within seconds you can lock your Aadhaar.
The unlocking process is also similar, you can do that on both the mobile app and website.
Techlusive.in also insisted to its readers that when you lock your Aadhaar, you will have to use the VID number for most tasks. To get the VID number, you will have to send an SMS from your registered mobile number, as mentioned above.
