Aadhaar Fraud Alert: What happens if fraudsters steal copy of Aadhaar card and try to open a bank account? UIDAI answers

Aadhaar Fraud Alert: Aadhaar, a 12-digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on behalf of the Government of India, is arguably the most important and widely used government document for personal identification or address proof countrywide.

With the use of UID increasing by the day, there is always a possibility of more people falling prey to fraudsters. These fraudsters can steal the Aadhaar card details and try to misuse credentials to get benefits.

What happens if some fraudster steals a copy of my Aadhaar card and tries to open a bank account?

Under the PML rules, an Aadhaar is one of the officially valid documents accepted for opening a bank account and the bank is required to do other due diligence for banking transactions or KYC. If a fraudster tries to open a bank account using Aadhaar and the bank does not take any proper precautions then in such a case the Aadhaar holder cannot be held responsible for the mistake of the bank, said the official website of UIDAI.

"It is just like if some fraudster opens a bank account by presenting someone else’s Voter card/Ration card, it is the bank that would be held responsible not the voter or ration card holder," UIDAI said.

The official website also informed that "till date no Aadhaar holder has suffered any financial loss due to such misuse."

Aadhaar Card Update Deadline Extended

Recently, the government has extended the deadline for free Aadhaar card update by three months. With this, people can now update their Aadhar card for free till March 14, 2024. Earlier, the deadline for the free UID update was December 14.

Aadhaar Card Update Cost

The service is free at the myAadhaar portal. However, at designated Aadhaar Card update centres, one needs to pay a fee of Rs 50 for the UID update.

How to use free Aadhaar Card update service?

Step 1: To access the free service, one needs to log in to the official website - https://myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/portal - using the Aadhaar number.
Step 2: A One Time Password (OTP) will be sent to the registered mobile number.
Step 3: Now, go to the ‘Document Update’ option, verify details and upload documents to revalidate information.
Step 4: People need to submit the documents related to their identity and address at the UID's official website.

Aadhaar Card: UIDAI Helpline Number

In case of any query or help, one can contact the UIDAI toll-free helpline number - 1947. Besides, they can also contact through the official email address of UIDAI - phonehelp@uidai.gov.in. For queries and details, people need to log in to the official website of UIDAI.