EPFO: Lakhs of PF account holders (EPFO Members) of the country are facing a big technical problem these days. Whenever they are logging into the online portal to check their PF balance, withdraw money or update KYC, their account suddenly appears locked or blocked. If this has happened to you too, then first of all know that there is no need to panic, your deposited money is completely safe and the account is not closed forever. In fact, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has tightened the rules of security and Aadhaar authentication in recent times. For this reason, if there is a minor error in the record or repeatedly entering the wrong password, the system temporarily blocks the account for security reasons.
Entering wrong password may prove costly
A large number of PF accounts are getting locked simply because users repeatedly enter wrong information while logging in. Often people forget their old password, or get confused due to different UANs of old jobs. Apart from this, many times people keep trying again and again even after the expiry of the OTP received on the mobile. EPFO’s automatic security system considers these consecutive failed attempts as suspicious activity and places a temporary lock on the account to prevent fraud. Some account holders’ accounts automatically deactivate after a certain ‘cooling-off period’, while others may have to completely reset their password to log in.
Minor differences in data may prevent access
Mismatch of name or date of birth in documents is also a major reason for account blocking. Most of the employees do not realize this until they suddenly need to withdraw money from PF in an emergency. Aadhaar verification gets rejected due to mistake of one letter in the spelling of your name, missing middle name, different format of surname or old date of birth. Many times it happens that employees update bank details or new Aadhaar information on the portal at their own level, but at the company (employer) level, that approval remains stuck on the backend. Until the company approves it digitally, the online services of the account remain limited.
How to reactivate your account
If your account is locked, the first and easiest way to fix it is the ‘Forgot Password’ option given on the EPFO member portal. Since the entire security system of EPFO now depends on OTP linked to Aadhaar, you must have an active mobile number which is linked to your Aadhaar card. If the problem is KYC mismatch or lack of employer approval, then you will have to contact the HR department of your current or old company and get the pending request approved.
If the solution is not available even through online methods, then the account holder can lodge his complaint on the official Grievance Portal of EPFO. Apart from this, as a last option, your account can be reactivated manually by visiting your nearest Regional EPFO Office and submitting Aadhaar, PAN card, bank passbook and employment related documents.
