Don’t flaunt your Aadhaar everywhere

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The cases of tampering in Aadhaar card are so serious that even the Prime Minister could not remain untouched by it. In July this year, a man was arrested in Bihar for using Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s name and details in the aadhaar card. According to the police, the accused had changed some details including the date of birth of both the leaders in Aadhaar.

Similarly, some time back in Mumbai, 99 SIM cards were activated and sold illegally by misusing Aadhaar cards, fingerprints and other valid documents of some people. After which, an official of the telecom company lodged a complaint.

A few months ago there was news of the details given on the Cowin portal being leaked. It was learned that after some technical fault, the personal information of the users present on the CoWIN app has been leaked online. Information about the details of Aadhaar and PAN card of users being made public was received on the instant messaging app Telegram. Many big leaders and other high-profile people were included among those whose data was leaked.

In February this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs had said in a letter to the states that cybercriminals are misusing the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) to commit financial frauds.

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C), the nodal agency related to cybercrime of the ministry, had said that through AePS, any user can make cash deposits, withdrawals, fund transfers and check statements using Aadhaar number and biometrics, and that cybercriminals are misusing these facilities.

Last year, the Bengaluru Regional Office of the Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI) issued a press release advising Aadhaar card holders to use masked Aadhaar numbers and to refrain from sharing photocopies of their cards.

The release said, “Unlicensed private entities like hotels or cinema halls cannot collect Aadhaar cards and cannot keep copies of them. This is an offence under the Aadhaar Act, 2016. If any private entity asks you to show Aadhaar card or asks for its photocopy, then verify whether it has a valid user license of UIDAI or not. However, a few days later, the government withdrew the advisory saying that people should just use their common sense while sharing Aadhaar numbers. After the withdrawal of the advisory, the debate on concerns related to privacy and security of Aadhaar intensified.

UIDAI’s parent body, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said in a statement that the Aadhaar Identity Authentication system has adequate features to protect the identity and privacy of the Aadhaar holder. So there is no need to worry about Aadhaar. Now the question arises as to whom to listen to. Supreme Court advocate Anil Karnwal has something to say on this. He says that…. “Aadhaar is not safe. Even the Supreme Court has been saying so. The danger of potential misuse of Aadhaar is real. The Supreme Court has said that it is not mandatory to give Aadhaar for every work. Only if it is necessary to give Aadhaar, then give it there but don’t give it anywhere else.”

“Government and private agencies/institutions ask for Aadhaar to verify identity. Aadhaar was also asked for Covid vaccination, although it was not said that vaccination will not be done without Aadhaar. You could have given another ID as well. But mostly people only gave Aadhaar numbers, so people should also keep in mind where to give Aadhaar and where not to give it.”

Now the question arises that how to ensure the safety of your Aadhaar? For this you have to take care of some things. If you are downloading Aadhaar on a public computer such as a photocopy shop, or office system, then delete both your downloaded file system and its Recycle Bin from the place. Use masked Aadhaar card. You can download your masked Aadhaar card from UIDAI portal. Aadhaar is of 12 digits and in masked Aadhaar the first 8 digits are hidden, only the last 4 digits will be visible. With this, all your sensitive personal information related to Aadhaar will be safe.

Aadhaar consists of photographs, retinal scans and fingerprints of people. Biometrics is used to link bank account, mobile number and so on. You can lock your Aadhaar biometrics whenever you want by entering the necessary details on the uidai portal, so that it is not misused. You can also unlock it whenever you want.

One of the major reasons for the misuse of Aadhaar is the lack of easy complaint mechanism. According to Anil Karnwal, as per the provisions of the Aadhaar Act 2016, you cannot file a complaint for any fraud, even if you are a victim. Only UIDAI can register the complaint.

That’s why keep in mind all the things that we have told you, while using your Aadhaar. Keep your Aadhaar strongly secured and be vigilant about its use.