Explained: How to lock and unlock your Aadhaar biometrics to prevent frauds

• There have been instances of Aadhaar data being misused to steal money.
• Aadhaar Enabled Payment Systems uses Aadhaar biometrics to provide access to bank accounts.
• Here’s how you can lock your Aadhaar biometrics to protect yourself.

The Aadhaar Enabled Payment Systems (AEPS), allows users to use their identity to access an Aadhaar-enabled bank account to withdraw money, check their balance and more.

While this was aimed at helping people get easier access to their bank accounts, there have been instances of people losing their money due to frauds using stolen Aadhaar data. In one such incident, a woman in Karnataka lost INR 20,000 after the scammers used her biometrics to withdraw money.

Even if you never plan on using AEPS, there is a possibility that fraudsters may use your data to gain access to your accounts.

With all bank accounts being linked to Aadhaar, there is only one way to protect your money. AEPS uses biometric data to provide access to bank accounts. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) allows users to lock their Aadhaar biometrics, which can protect you from such scams.

How to lock your Aadhaar biometrics

To begin, keep your Aadhaar name and your registered mobile number ready.

• First, go to the Aadhaar website here.
• Click on “Login” on the right side of the website.
• Now, enter your 16-digit Aadhaar number.
• Enter the captcha shown on the screen and click on “Send OTP”.
• Now, click on “Lock/Unlock Biometrics” and then click on “Next”.
• Click on the “I Understand…” statement and then click on “Next”.

Your biometrics will be successfully locked and you or anyone else will not be able to use your biometrics such as fingerprint, face or iris scan for authentication. Do note that OTP-based authentication will continue to work.

How to unlock your Aadhaar biometrics

If you have locked your biometrics and need to unlock them for authentication, you can do so easily. You can either unlock your biometrics permanently or for a short duration.

• First, go to the Aadhaar website here.
• Click on “Login” on the right side of the website.
• Now, enter your 16-digit Aadhaar number.
• Enter the captcha shown on the screen and click on “Send OTP”.
• Then, click on “Lock/Unlock Biometrics” and then click on “Next”.
• Now, you can either select “Unlock biometrics temporarily” or “Unlock biometrics permanently”.
• Click on the “I understand…” statement and click on “Next”.

Your biometrics will be unlocked. If you select the temporary unblock option, your biometrics will be unblocked for 10 minutes.

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