Recently, in a shocking incident of fraud, a group of fraudsters allegedly used fake PAN and Aadhaar details of various celebrities, including Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Hritik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Madhuri Dixit, to dupe banks of over Rs 50 lakh.
The fraudsters procured PAN details of Bollywood actors and cricketers from their GST identification numbers available online, and got credit cards issued in their names from Pune-based fintech startup ‘One Card’.
DCP Shahdara Rohit Meena said, “The accused allegedly duped banks of over Rs 50 lakh by fraudulently using details of celebrities like MS Dhoni, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Sachin Tendulkar, Saif Ali Khan, Hritik Roshan, Alia Bhatt, Shilpa Shetty, Emraan Hashmi, and others.”
The fraudsters allegedly got the GST details and date of birth of celebrities from Google. The first two digits of GSTIN are the state code, and the next 10 digits are the PAN number. After getting these two details, they applied for a new PAN card by fraudulently putting their own pictures on it, so that during video verification, their looks match with the photo available on PAN/Aadhaar card, as per the reports.
To forge the Aadhaar details, they followed the same procedure. After getting a new PAN and Aadhaar, the fraudsters applied for new credit cards from Pune-based fintech startup ‘One Card’. They also allegedly took out several financial details and transactions through CIBIL reports.
To prevent the misuse of PAN, it is essential to follow some safety steps, such as regularly checking your Cibil score and income tax Form 26A to know or report any transactions not done by you. It is also recommended to use PAN cards only where required, and instead, use other identification documents like driver’s licenses, voter ID cards, and Aadhar cards. It is also important to avoid entering your date of birth on insecure online portals, as this information can be used to locate your PAN number on the Income Tax website.
Moreover, always check the URL for the presence of “https” to ensure the site is safe. When submitting a PAN copy, write the date along with your signature and mention the reason behind the submission. Be careful when sharing PAN photocopies with any organization, and consider delinking your Aadhaar card from your bank accounts, as it is no longer required.
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