Beware Of The New Aadhaar Card Scam
A new Aadhaar card scam allows unauthorized bank withdrawals using stolen biometric data, prompting the need to lock biometrics for protection.
There is a new Aadhar card scam where money can be withdrawn from your bank account without your OTP or approval. In this fraud, OTP authentication is not required thus allowing scamsters to siphon funds from your bank account with just your fingerprint data, Aadhaar number, and bank name. The transactions occur without receiving any SMS alerts. In this new type of scam, the crooks/cheaters use the Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) to get access to your bank accounts. Aadhaar number thefts usually occur at cyber cafes, photocopy centers and hotels. Once the Aadhar number is acquired, it is possible that scammers might stalk the victims to get their bank details. The final piece in the scam is the fingerprint. These criminals use leaked biometric details like fingerprints so they don’t need an OTP to take money from your account. They may get this from places like registry offices or any service where fingerprints are used to authenticate transactions. They then reproduce these fingerprints on silicon replicas. These are misused to make unauthorized withdrawals that do not require OTP or other verification. To protect yourself from such scams, you can lock your biometric details. The Aadhaar-issuing authority UIDAI has an option of '`' as an additional layer of protection. The biometric lock in the existing Aadhaar system is aimed at allowing users to safeguard or lock down their biometrics as and when they want.
How To Lock Aadhaar Biometric Details?
- Go to UIDAI site or mAadhaar mobile app.
- Click on your profile.
- Tap on the menu button.
- Click on the Biometric Settings.
- Tick on the 'Enable Biometric Lock' option.
- Tap on "ok".
- You will get an OTP to the registered mobile number.
- Enter the OTP and your biometric details will immediately get locked.
A user can unlock for specific transactions and then lock the biometrics back again. When people enable the biometric locking system, their biometric remains locked till the Aadhaar holder chooses to either unlock it or disable the locking system.
