Hackers Target Aadhar Enabled Payment System, Arrest Three From Kanpur

KANPUR: Uneducated people or large population living in rural areas of India is on the radar of cybercriminals.

According to the police, cyber crooks are stealing money from the accounts of illiterate people by duplicating their fingerprints and withdrawing funds through the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS).

Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) is a sort of payment system that is based on the Unique Identification Number and enables Aadhaar cardholders to make financial transactions effortlessly using Aadhaar-based authentication.

The AePS system aspires to empower all segments of society, particularly those living in rural regions, to use financial and banking services using Aadhaar.

According to the UP police probe, AePS, which allows clients to make payments using their Aadhaar number and by providing Aadhaar authentication at point of sale (PoS) or micro ATMs, is being abused by hackers.

Modus Operandi

• Criminals get data from the “Stamp and Registration” UP government website or other offices where documents are collected.

The website provides a soft copy of all the registry done in the department, copy of Aadhar card, pan card, mobile number and bank account number attached.

•  Crooks get the print of the thumb impression from the copy of the Aadhar card on a butter paper and use a stamper machine to make an exact clone of the thumb impression.

• They edit the Aadhar card details by changing the photo, name and address using photoshop software. A new QR code is generated using a QR code generator app. Whenever the code is scanned it will show the desired name.

• Criminals purchase fake SIM card and make fake bank account using the fake Aadhar cards.

• Become bank correspondent (encouraged by banks) in the “online Aadhar payment system”. Then they transfer money from the victims’ account using the fake thumb impression of the victim and immediately withdraw the money.

According to the officials the daily limit of cash withdrawal is Rs 10,000 per day. Fraud can be done only if the account of victim is linked with Aadhar card, which is in most of the cases. Kanpur police have arrested three people who have been identified as Shivam, Saurabh and Akshay Pandey.

According to a senior police officer, only fingerprints are necessary for AePS, and the consumer does not receive an OTP, which is required for any card-based payment. The gang targeted ignorant and non-technical persons in order to prevent them from instantly checking their bank details.

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