EPFO sounds WhatsApp social media alert! Don't make these mistakes online

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has advised its members to refrain from sharing important details of their EPF account, personal details and OTP over the phone or online to avoid fraud. EPFO fraud alert was sounded because of rising threat of EPF linked OTP scams and more. The EPFO advisory also said that EPF members must not share personal details, like Aadhaar card number, PAN, bank account number, UAN number  with anyone on WhatsApp and social media as there is a chance that EPF members may lose their money.  

EPFO tweeted its alert to all members from its official Twitter handle. The tweet reads, “#EPFO never asks its members to share their personal details like Aadhaar, PAN, UAN, Bank Account or OTP over phone or on social media.”

Along with the Tweet, EPFO shared an image, which reads, “ALERT Beware of fraudsters!" to make the members aware of this problem they may be faced with. It also tweeted that ‘for any service, EPFO never asks to deposit any money through WhatsApp or social media, etc.’ Additionally, EPFO advised that members must never respond to those calls or messages which ask for personal details or to share OTP as it can then lead to fraud.  

For any queries, suspicious calls or messages regarding the EPFO or any other grievances, people can reach out to the official website of EPFO - www.epfindia.gov.in. 

Also, to secure their documents, EPFO members should keep them online on DigiLocker, which is a secured cloud-based government initiated platform for security of documents, sharing and verification. One must login first to avail the services of DigiLocker, which is available for the Android and iOS users. There are various services of EPFO that are available on DigiLocker: UAN card, Pension Payment Order (PPO), Scheme Certificate.

What is EPFO?

For those who don’t know, EPFO, which is responsible for the regulation and management of provident funds, pensions, and mandatory life insurance in India and one of the world's largest social security organisations in terms of clientele and number of financial transactions.

Govt approves 8.5 pc interest rate on EPF for FY'21

In a significant move that will bring great Diwali cheer to five crore EPFO subscribers, the government has approved an 8.5 per cent rate of interest for the 2020-21.The 8.5 per cent rate of interest on provident fund deposits for the last financial year was decided by the EPFO's apex decision making body Central Board of Trustees (CBT) headed by Labour Minister in March this year, PTI reported.