“#BewareOfFraudsters For any kind of information related to the Aadhaar Update, always trust the UIDAI official website ( http://uidai.gov.in), #mAadhaarApp and #myAadhaarPortal or official social media handles only,” UIDAI posted on Twitter on September 6, 2023.
This cautionary tweet from UIDAI is very significant since there have been cases in the past in which people got scammed upon clicking on phishing links. What happened was that scamsters set identical-looking websites and conned people into thinking that their look-alike website was the real UIDAI website. This led to people revealing their sensitive information to the look-alike (phishing) website.
Cyber security experts advise that people should check the URL of the website that they are visiting. For example: UIDAI’s website URL is http://uidai.gov.in. So if someone forwards you a link like this http://uidai.gov.com or http://uidai.gov.org, etc. then you should know that these are not genuine URLs. Take time to read the entire URL including the extension (.gov.in, .com, .net, etc)
It should be noted that UIDAI periodically tries to alert users about staying aware of the correct links of UIDAI including its Android and iOS apps. In the mentioned tweet, UIDAI also included quick response (QR) codes for all its websites and Android and iOS apps.
Use your Aadhaar freely but be careful
“You should use your Aadhaar without any hesitation to prove your identity and do transactions, just like you use your bank account number, PAN card, debit card, credit card, etc., wherever required. What UIDAI has advised is that an Aadhaar card should be freely used for proving identity and doing transactions, but should not be put on public platforms like Twitter, Facebook, etc. People give their debit card or credit card details or cheque (which has a bank account number) when they purchase goods, or pay school fees, water, electricity, telephone and other utility bills, etc. Similarly, you can freely use your Aadhaar to establish your identity as and when required without any fear. While using Aadhaar, you should do the same level of due diligence as you do in case of other ID cards – not more, not less,” said UIDAI in a frequently asked question (FAQ).
Aadhaar number in India is linked to numerous services and applications and it holds many other informations too. For example, an Aadhaar holds information about our date of birth, gender, full address, mobile number and email, IRIS scan, and fingerprint. On the one hand, having all of this information means that Aadhaar can solely be used for KYC purposes. On the other hand, it means all of this information may get into the wrong hands if the scamsters or hackers anyhow get hold of our Aadhaar.
Back in August 2023, UIDAI tweeted about safeguarding one’s Aadhaar. “BewareOfFraudsters. UIDAI never solicits your Proof of Identity (POI) or Proof of Address (POA) documents via Email or WhatsApp for Aadhaar updates. Safeguard your Aadhaar by utilizing secure channels: the #myAadhaarPortal online or by personally visiting Aadhaar centers conveniently located near you,” read the tweet by UIDAI.
