Is your EPF under attack? For freezing or unfreezing EPF accounts, the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has revised its Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
According to the retirement fund body, "where there is a chance of fraudulent withdrawal or an attempt to fraud or having committed the fraud," it is necessary to freeze some or all of the operations with regard to Member ID, Universal Account Numbers (UAN), and establishments.
New SOP (Standard operating procedures)
In line with SOP, the EPFO will verify MIDs, UANs, and institutions through multiple stages in order to identify any potential instances of suspicious transactions or accounts that might involve impersonation or fraudulent withdrawals.
The EPFO has established a maximum freezing period of 30 days for verification, which can be extended by up to 14 extra days, in order to protect the money in these accounts.
Precautionary verification is necessary in order to reduce the risks associated with potential fraud, impersonation, and forgery. So, protecting the capital or preventing its flight from an account would be the first and most important course of action, according to the EPFO.
Member ID: What is it?
A member's Member ID (MID) is a special identity that connects their profile to their EPF account while they are employed.
UAN: What is it?
An EPF member is assigned a 12-digit unique number known as their UAN, which is valid for the duration of the member's life.
What does an EPF account freeze mean?
Freezing is done to safeguard member funds and to make sure that any fraudulent attempts or acts are properly verified and investigated, at least until the facts are determined and the authenticity of the act is established.
The responsible authority must approve transactions and notify all parties involved after the verification process is complete, the funds are safeguarded, and they are made available in the appropriate account.
A member's Member ID (MID) is a special identity that connects their profile to their EPF account while they are employed.
UAN: What is it?
An EPF member is assigned a 12-digit unique number known as their UAN, which is valid for the duration of the member's life.
What does an EPF account freeze mean?
Freezing is done to safeguard member funds and to make sure that any fraudulent attempts or acts are properly verified and investigated, at least until the facts are determined and the authenticity of the act is established.
The responsible authority must approve transactions and notify all parties involved after the verification process is complete, the funds are safeguarded, and they are made available in the appropriate account.
