We live in a democracy where information is a commodity. Out of 1.37 billion people in India, 0.44 billion people own a Permanent Account Number (PAN). However, most of us are unaware of the danger of information sharing. PAN card misuse is becoming an area of concern.

According to a report by IndiaSpend, 2018 saw the maximum number of PAN card frauds. Hackers and criminals are on a constant lookout for any information or vulnerabilities that can be exploited. Many events have come to light where such information has been used for committing fraudulent activities.

PAN Card frauds in India

• In a recent case, a 27-year-old sales executive was shocked when he received an income tax notice for payment of his taxes. He had been named Director of 13 companies and had allegedly transacted over Rs 20 crores without his knowledge. It was only after the notice that he realized that his PAN details were stolen and misused. 
• In another case, a Ludhiana-based father-son duo was found using six different PAN cards to convert people’s black money into white during demonetization for a hefty commission.
• There have been other reported instances where people have used someone else’s PAN for obtaining loans, purchasing properties and jewelry, or for investing their black money.

How PAN Card can be misused?

• With government regulations like linking Aadhaar numbers with PAN cards and bank accounts, it is becoming effortless for criminals to find all relevant information in one place. 
• Quoting your PAN number during tatkal railway booking is necessary. The same information is being displayed with your name on the prepared charts with traveler details that are displayed at the railway station. Anyone can access these details and use it for illegal activities. However, the government has started taking measures to prevent identity theft by displaying only the last four digits of the PAN.
• These days PAN and other details need to be shared to open bank accounts, get postpaid connections, or even for employee background verifications. In most cases, the processing is done by a third party. It is highly possible that your information will get leaked if the servers of these agencies are not secure. 
• Sometimes, we furnish our personal details to travel agents for visa applications or other travel bookings and even to online travel portals while making holiday bookings. While most of these servers are relatively secure, fraudsters are continually watching for opportunities to misuse your details while you are away and do succeed in some instances.
• Social media sites are another place for leaks. While creating a profile, we give away a lot of personal details. Using some of these, it is easy for stalkers to procure your PAN details and use it for their personal benefits.

“Distrust and caution are the parents of security “– Benjamin Franklin. Safeguarding your personal details has become extremely important to avoid PAN Card scam. 

How to avoid PAN card frauds?

• Use your PAN card only where compulsory. Driver’s license, voter ID, and Aadhar cards are other valid documents that are less vulnerable to fraud.
• Don’t fill details of birthdate or full names publicly or on insecure online portals. These details can be used to trace your PAN number on the Income Tax website. 
• Secure the original and photocopies of your PAN card. Put the date with your signature when submitting documents. Keep track of the places where you have submitted physical photocopies of your PAN card.
• De-link your Aadhar card from your bank accounts because it is no longer mandatory.
• Form 26A of your income tax return records all the financial transactions made with your PAN. So, check your Form 26A regularly to ensure that there are no suspicious activities on your PAN card.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that his government is trying to ensure that the citizen-government interface is incorruptible through technological means. He said, “To me, a technology used wisely is a catalyst to magically transforming the way we live in.” 

A Digital India with cybersecurity is paving its way towards becoming an integral part of National Security to become true soon!

FAQ:

How can anyone misuse my PAN Card number?

If your essential PAN card data is leaked, then it can be misused to get a loan, credit card, or to even show fake identity proof.

How to know if my PAN Card is misused?

1. Checking your credit score is the best way to do so. The statement will show all the loans taken using your PAN. You will identify the fraud if you find any loans that aren’t taken by you.

2. Check out platforms like TransUnion CIBIL, Equifax, Experian, Paytm, Bank Bazaar or CRIF High Mark on the internet. You can choose whichever seems convenient for you.

3. Open your website and click on “Check credit score”. It is usually free of cost. However, some websites might ask to select a plan for getting a detailed credit score.

4. Enter your Date of Birth, name, email ID, registered mobile no., and PAN number. You might have to verify your mobile number with an OTP.

Is PAN Card number safe to give?

Casually giving your PAN Card number, both online and physically, invites theft. Avoid giving a PAN card as an ID proof everywhere. Pick other Identity proofs as an option. 

That was all about PAN Card Verification, there are plenty of other documents you can use for verification purposes. If you’re searching for more details around it, here’s what can help you:

• How Vaccination Verification Is A Game-Changer For Your Company?
• Passport Verification Using MRZ – SpringVerify India Blog
• Importance of Identity Check and How It Works
• Aadhaar masking: Here’s what you need to know about
• A Unified Driving Licence format in India: why was it important?

[Originally Published: Oct 9, 2019 Last Updated: April 22, 2022]

The post PAN Card Misuse and Ways to Prevent them appeared first on SpringVerify Blog.

Since its commercial birth almost five decades ago, gaming has become one of the most profitable industries in the world. Take Angry Birds, Farmville and Candy Crush, for example. From young children to grandparents — gaming has captivated all generations alike. Within such a fast growth, the requirement for a gaming license background check has increased.

India is one of the top five countries for gaming in the world. As a host to more than 250 game development companies and 250 million gamers, this segment is predicted to generate revenues north of INR 11,900 crore, as per a joint report by KPMG and Indian Federation of Sports Gaming. The number of users in India is projected to become 628 million and worth $1 billion by 2021, as per a NASCOM report.

Smartphone-crazy gamers in India

The mobile gaming industry has soared in the past several years. Globally, the number of users downloading apps has doubled between 2017 to 2018. 40% of this growth comes from emerging markets such as India.

The rise in smartphone adoption in India runs in parallel to the increase in mobile gaming. Game developers such as 99Games, Moon Frog, Mech Mocha, and PlaySimple are capitalizing on the growth of smartphone usage.

The mobile gaming market is growing with cheap data charges, mobile phone prices, frictionless payments, and localized content.

Why is a gaming license background check required?

The exponential growth in the fantasy games segment

A gaming sector that has witnessed 7x growth since 2016 is fantasy sports. From 2 million users in 2016, the number of players for fantasy games has grown 25x to 50 million in number in 2018, according to the same KPMG report.

Operators such as Dream11, HalaPay, My11Circle, BalleBaazi, and GamingMonk have the largest user base in the fantasy games sports segment.

Factors such as the clarity on the legality of fantasy sports, improved digital infrastructure, investor participation, and a rise in the sports leagues contributed to the wide user adoption.

Fraud puts a damper on the fast-growing industry

Despite the impressive numbers, not all is hunky-dory in the world of gaming. A ThreatMetrix Gaming and Gambling Cybercrime report states that one in every 20 new account creations is fraudulent. A credit check for a gaming license helps in preventing such situations.

From small-time scammers to large criminal syndicates, the industry has become a prime target for fraudsters looking to monetize stolen credentials by:

• Making fraudulent bets
• Taking over existing accounts to steal account credits
• Signing up for fraudulent new accounts for illegal activities

Prime Indian gaming companies such as Ace2Three, Dream11, and BalleBaazi have already started putting up proper infrastructure in place to mitigate fraudulent activities.

The popularity of micro-transactions and a seamless gaming experience allows gaming publishers to store payment information. This way, for the next purchase the payment data is available with just a click/tap. Gaming companies who possess payment details on their files are an easy target for hackers.

Additionally, scams and phishing attempts aimed directly at gamers to share their confidential data also lead to fraud. The use of generative ai for gaming is helping to detect and prevent such fraudulent activities by identifying suspicious patterns and enhancing security measures in real time.

The enormous potential of this being, 75% of mobile gamers and 50% of console and desktop gamers spend on an in-game purchase, as per an ACI Worldwide report.

There are still many gaming companies across the globe that have paid a heavy price for such frauds due to negligence. Here are the 3 examples:

Recent reports of gaming frauds

1. Daub Alderney fails to protect data, pays hefty fine

Many UK gambling firms paid a fine of £19.6m in 2018 for failing to stop money laundering and protect problem gamblers. More than a third of the total amount (£7.1 million) was paid by Daub Alderney, an operator running multiple sites such as Kitty Bingo and Lucky Pants Bingo.

The fact that gamblers were allowed to gamble significant amounts of money within short time frames without any operator intervention compelled the Gambling Commission in the UK to fine Daub Alderney.

2. Gambling app manipulation lands father-son in jail

In 2018, a Mumbai-based father-and-son duo was arrested from their hideout in Gurugram for running online gambling websites that had a turnover of INR 200 crore. They manipulated a software that made sure the numbers on which the customers bet never won.

The police noticed the father-son duo after arresting nine people who were arrested for illegal online gambling bets based on the software created by them. The racket had spread across seven states and 15 countries. The father-son duo is now in jail.

3. Malicious actors in Fortnite try to steal info from young players

Fortnite is the biggest name in the gaming world and has a proud parade of young fans. However, that has caught the attention of scammers who try to steal information and money from them. Strings of scams have been unraveled to trick children into revealing sensitive information about themselves and their parents.

Though the scams are age-old, Fortnite came under the radar once again in 2018 due to a spike in reported cases. The video gaming company urged parents to be vigilant and to keep an eye on what their children are doing online.

Conclusion

The addiction levels are only going to grow, and fraudsters and scammers are not going anywhere.

To combat this, gaming companies have started using a gaming commission background check that can authenticate a user in real-time. With SpringVerify, you can verify the identities of the people involved. The KYC details can be checked to build customer profiles.

The correct gaming license background check protects online gaming operators from the growing number of frauds and online scams. The reason being they have more information about the users. The extra layer of protection means that companies can check and verify details about a customer before they gamble and not after. A strong verification process leads to creating a safer environment for gamers and to combat gaming-related harm.

About SpringVerify

SpringVerify is the modern take on the age-old problem of employee verification being costly, tedious, and out of reach of small businesses. We are trying to build a platform where the employee verification process happens seamlessly and with minimal effort required from both the company and the employee.

We believe that employee verification is a must for any business. It is a critical process in ensuring that every employee working with you is faithful and could be trusted. CareerBuilder survey shows that a company stands to lose on average $17000 on a wrong hire. 

We have built the platform with blockchain and believe that it will change virtually everything it comes in contact with. Blockchain helps us in building a decentralized system which keeps all our data secure and immutable.

FAQ

What is a gaming background check?

A gaming background check is necessarily conducted for checking the background history of gamers. The industry has been boosting and this parallely calls for more frauds through hacking and other means alongside. 

Hence it is necessary to ensure that a gaming background check is conducted in order to ensure the safety of everyone.

What can prevent you from getting a gaming license?

In order to get a gaming license, most background checks are conducted around criminal records and work history.

[Originally published Sept 25, 2019 Last updated August 4th, 2022]

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