CBI Arrests Individual For EPFO Claims Fraud Via Identity Theft

The Central Bureau of Investigation has recently arrested an individual in connection with the fraudulent withdrawal of EPFO claims through identity theft.

The arrested person has been presented before the Competent Court and has been remanded to 4 days of police custody.

CBI stated that a case was already registered in this regard on February 8, 2022.

An official statement stated that “A case was registered on February 8, 2022, against seven establishments and other unknown individuals on a complaint from Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) related to alleged fraudulent activities involving identity theft, aimed at illegally withdrawing funds from the PF accounts of genuine beneficiaries.”

It added that “It was alleged that the accused had adopted the modus operandi to target individuals whose Aadhaar cards were not linked to their PF accounts. It was further alleged that the fraudsters obtained an Aadhaar card with identical name, date of birth, and gender by submitting forged documents to update an existing Aadhaar card.”

Subsequently, CBI stated that the altered Aadhaar card with fictitious establishments and linked to those establishments.

The fraudsters carried out multiple online claims on behalf of genuine PF members to fraudulently withdraw PF funds, as stated in the official statement.

Following the arrest, searches were conducted at 8 premises associated with the accused and others located in Bihar, Jharkhand, and Delhi. These searches resulted in the recovery of various incriminating documents, mobile phones, ATM cards, checkbooks, and passbooks, among other items.