EPFO has warned its members not to share essential details regarding their EPF account personal information or OTP over phone or online. In view of the increasing threat of OTP scam and other issues related to EPF, EPFO has issued a notice of fraud.
In order to reduce fraud, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has warned its members not to share essential details about their EPF account, personal information, or OTP over the phone or online. In view of the increasing threat of OTP scam and other issues related to EPF, EPFO has issued a notice of fraud.
As per EPFO’s advisory, EPF members should not share personal information like their Aadhar card number, PAN, bank account number or UAN number with anyone on WhatsApp or social media, as they run the risk of losing their money. Huh. EPFO has sent a message to all the members through its official Twitter account. The tweet read, “#EPFO never asks its members to share personal information like Aadhaar, PAN card, UAN, bank account or OTP over phone or social media.”
The EPFO also published a graphic along with the tweet which read, “Beware of fraudsters!” To alert the members to the dangers faced by them. The EPFO also tweeted that it “never asks for any money for any service through WhatsApp or social media etc.” The EPFO also recommended members not to respond to calls or texts requesting personal information or sharing OTPs, as it could lead to fraud. People can contact EPFO for any queries, suspicious calls or messages, or other issues through its official website www.epfindia.gov.in.
EPF members should save their documents online on Digilocker, a secure cloud-based government-sponsored platform for document security, sharing and verification. To use DigiLocker’s services, which are available for Android and iOS users, you must first log in. EPFO services such as UAN cards, Pension Payment Orders (PPOs), and Scheme Certificates are all available on Digilocker.
EPFO is one of the largest social security organizations in the world in terms of subscribers and financial transactions. It is responsible for regulation and management of provident fund, pension and compulsory life insurance in India. The government has approved 8.5 percent interest rate for the financial year 2020-21, which will bring great joy to Diwali for five crore EPFO subscribers. According to PTI, in March this year, the final decision-making body of the EPFO, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) headed by the Labor Minister, decided an interest rate of 8.5 per cent on provident fund deposits for the previous financial year.
