Every citizen living in India must have some necessary documents. Whether it is to take advantage of the government scheme, to get admission in school-college or do any work related to the bank-documents like Aadhaar card and PAN card are needed everywhere. But the way the use of these documents has increased, similarly their misuse is also increasing rapidly.
In today’s digital age it is important that you protect your documents and understand how their misuse can be stopped. In this article, we will tell you how you can protect your PAN and Aadhaar card and what is important to take care of.
Why are Aadhaar and PAN cards necessary?
The Aadhaar card is a unique identity card that is associated with your biometric and demographic data. It has become necessary from government schemes to taking SIM cards, opening bank account and school admission.
At the same time, PAN card is your financial identity. It is necessary in all economic activities like tax filling, banking, investment, loan taking.
But if these documents are used in the wrong hands, then there may be fake loans, SIM cards, bank accounts or many other frauds in your name.
The biggest mistake: giving photocopy without safety
Often we give without any caution when we submit photocopy of Aadhaar or PAN card for a work. Whether it is to buy a SIM card or check-in in a hotel-giving a document has become a normal process.
But this is the biggest lapse here. If anyone wants, you can use your photocopy for some other wrong purpose. For example, to remove SIM cards in your name or cheat online.
Stop such documents misused
1. Write note on the document
Whenever you give photocopy of Aadhaar or PAN to an institution, write with a pen on that photocopy – “Only for xyz purpose” (eg – only for sim card). With this, this photocopy cannot be used again in any other work. This is a small but extremely effective way.
2. Lock Aadhaar Card
If you have to give Aadhaar card again and again, you can lock it by visiting UIDAI’s website. After the lock, no one will be able to use the basis of your OTP permission.
In addition, instead of Aadhaar number, you should generate a 16 -digit Virtual ID (VID) from UIDAI website. With this, your real Aadhaar number will remain private.
3. Check the use of PAN card
To know if your PAN card is not being misused anywhere, you can check CIBIL or other credit bureau websites and check that there is no loan or transaction in your name.
If you feel that there is a suspicious activity, then you can immediately file a complaint with the concerned institution or bureau. Due to this, major losses can be avoided in time.
Additional precautions that every person should take
Do not share photocopy digital – Do not send a scan copy of your documents on any unknown email or social media.
Use the masked version of the Aadhaar card – Download the masked Aadhaar from the UIDAI website that shows only the last 4 points.
Use Digilocker – Save your document in a government recognized digital locker and share it from there.
Beware of suspicious calls – If someone asks for Aadhaar or PAN information on the phone, it can be a cyber fraud.
conclusion
Aadhaar and PAN cards have become an important part of our life. But the more important they are use, the more important it is for their safety. If you adopt the easy but effective methods mentioned above, you can save your documents from going into the wrong hands.
Remember – A little vigilance can prevent big losses. Security of documents has now become your digital responsibility.
