PF Account Holders Alert! Avoid THESE mistakes or you will lose your hard earned money

New Delhi: The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has issued a warning to its subscribers regarding the risk of internet fraud. The pension organization has provided measures to protect provident fund accounts from online risks, advising customers to be wary of bogus schemes and scammers. 

EPFO has urged its members not to share essential information, even if someone purports to be its representative and asks for it, in a social media message from its official Twitter handle. The employment authority goes on to say that it never asks users to share personal information such as Aadhaar, PAN, UAN, bank account, or OTP over the phone or on social media.

Subscribers to provident funds should be aware that the EPFO never requests money from its members via WhatsApp or any other social media platform in exchange for its services. It has also advised members not to reply to calls or texts posing as EPFO officials and requesting them to give personal information or donate money.

"#EPFO never asks its members to provide their personal details like Aadhaar, PAN, UAN, Bank Account or OTP over phone or on social media," the pension authority says in a tweet.

If you have received calls or texts from people purporting to be EPFO officials asking you to disclose your UAN data, PAN, or Aadhaar number, you should immediately notify the EPFO. You can visit EPFO's official website at www.epfindia.gov.in. You can also communicate with them through social media channels such as Twitter.

EPFO members can use DigiLocker to protect themselves from online scams. DigiLocker is a secure cloud-based platform for document and certificate storage, exchange, and verification. It is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under the Digital India agenda.

Sign up for DigiLocker using your mobile number or Aadhaar number is simple. Following registration, your mobile number or 12-digit Aadhaar number will be authenticated by providing a one-time password, or OTP. Then, for two-factor authentication, you must enter your security PIN. You can then upload the documents that you want to keep in DigiLocker via 'Upload Documents.' Documents can be submitted in PDF, JPEG, and PNG formats, with a maximum file size of 10 MB allowed on DigiLocker. It should be mentioned that in order to link your DigiLocker account to your Aadhaar card number, your mobile number must be linked to your Aadhaar card number as well.

EPFO noted in a tweet that over 16 lakh EPFO subscribers have already filed e-nominations in January. "File an e-Nomination today to ensure #SocialSecurity for your Family/Nominee," the website added.