Somebody has contacted you about your claim. Should you believe them?

A member whose claim has been stuck for months is the easiest person in the country to defraud, because everything the fraud says is exactly what their own experience has taught them to expect. Seven questions, answerable from memory.

What happened

Did they ask for your UAN password, an OTP, or a bank PIN?
क्या उन्होंने आपका UAN पासवर्ड, OTP या बैंक PIN माँगा?
Were you asked to pay to release, speed up or unblock the claim?
क्या दावा जल्दी कराने या छुड़ाने के लिए पैसे माँगे गए?
Did a message contain a link to a site asking for your UAN and password?
क्या किसी मैसेज में ऐसा लिंक था जो UAN और पासवर्ड माँग रहा था?
Were you told to act immediately or the money would be lost or lapse?
क्या कहा गया कि तुरंत नहीं किया तो पैसा चला जाएगा या लैप्स हो जाएगा?
Was it an agent offering to handle it for a share of the amount?
क्या कोई एजेंट रकम का हिस्सा लेकर काम कराने की बात कर रहा था?
Did the number, email or account belong to a person rather than an office?
क्या नंबर, ईमेल या खाता किसी व्यक्ति का था, कार्यालय का नहीं?
Could they give you a dated reference or file number?
क्या उन्होंने दिनांकित संदर्भ या फ़ाइल नंबर दिया?

Answer any question

Two of these are conclusive on their own. You will know before you reach the end.

True of any government office, not only this one

No office needs your password or your OTP.
Their access does not come from your credentials. It comes from theirs.
Nobody can charge you to settle, speed up or unblock a claim.
It is a duty owed to you under a scheme, not a service with a price.
Your provident fund does not expire and cannot lapse.
There is no deadline on claiming your own money. Urgency is a technique.
A decision is never reversed over the phone.
Every change passes a desk and leaves a written noting. If it is not on the file, it did not happen.
Nothing legitimate is settled through a personal bank account.
Money moves to the account seeded against your own UAN, and nowhere else.

Including this site

This is an independent prototype and not an official EPFO service. It never asks for a real UAN, a password or an OTP, and the accounts in it are invented. Apply the same test to it that you would apply to anybody else.