Fake Aadhaar, PAN-printing websites use customers’ info for cyber fraud in Uttar Pradesh

The Uttar Pradesh police is investigating a number of such cases

Hundreds of fake identity card-printing websites are operating out of Uttar Pradesh and duping people by using their personal information, according to a cyber security research firm.

The websites put out advertisements offering to make physical identity cards like Aadhaar, PAN, and driving licence, and deliver those at the customers’ doorstep at affordable rates, CloudSEK, the Bengaluru-based firm, has claimed.

The personal information of people is used to carry out social engineering attacks, identity thefts, phishing attacks, while it can also be exploited to carry out unauthorised financial transactions and issuing SIM cards illegally, it noted.

A large number of such cyber threat actors mushroomed following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and are based in western Uttar Pradesh, CloudSEK has found in a new research.

When contacted, Superintendent of Police, Cyber Crime, Uttar Pradesh, Triveni Singh told PTI that his department is aware of complaints of impersonation and already investigating a number of such cases.

“Such matters are being reported from bigger cities, especially those in the National Capital Region (NCR),” he said.

Mr. Singh asked people to report any online offence immediately at the dedicated helpline number 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in.