PUNE: The state property registration department is struggling to mask Aadhaar numbers and fingerprints in previously uploaded property documents, despite successfully implementing this security measure for new agreements to prevent identity thefts and frauds.
Officials from the registration department said they were collaborating with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to address the issue in over 3 crore documents already available on govt websites. “It is a major hassle. NIC is evaluating how to go about it as each document has to be checked for Aadhaar details,” a senior department official said.
The initiative followed recommendations from the Unique Identification Authority of India to prevent Aadhaar-linked frauds. At present, biometric fingerprints and Aadhaar details are mandatory for various property-related transactions, including property registration, deed title transfers and gift deed preparation.
In 2023, the department started masking fingerprints and Aadhaar numbers on the scanned copies of new sale deeds and rental agreements while uploading them on govt websites to prevent Aadhaar-linked frauds. “Several complaints regarding fraudsters collecting fingerprints and Aadhaar numbers by downloading documents from websites raised concerns. We started the process three months ago,” the official said.
The hard copies of sale deeds and leave and licence documents are scanned and uploaded on govt websites. Normally, the documents can be viewed for free and downloaded at a nominal fee of Rs 300. “For new documents, thumb impressions and Aadhaar data are being masked,” the official said.
Last year, fingerprints and Aadhaar numbers of over 20 lakh documents were masked. “Only a thumb-verified message and masked Aadhaar number are visible now. We store the thumb impression in our database,” the official said.
Police officers said in a majority of complaints relating to Aadhaar-related frauds, the details were obtained from the property documents. A police officer said the cyber team reached out to various departments to ensure that fingerprints and Aadhaar numbers were masked on the scanned copies of deeds and property documents uploaded on govt websites to avert frauds.
Data used to dupe victims
Police said fraudsters collected fingerprints and Aadhaar numbers by downloading documents from govt websites
They then used the data to withdraw money from victims’ bank accounts
A cyber expert said there were several ways govt agencies could mask Aadhaar numbers and fingerprints on govt websites
He said one way was to replace the first 8 digits of the Aadhaar number with asterisks, while another way was to hash the Aadhaar number or fingerprints using a cryptographic algorithm.
