The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has urged members to avoid approaching unauthorised agents and use official portals for free to avail services.
The EPFO’s caution comes after it observed that several cybercafe operators/fintech companies are charging members large sums of money for services that are officially free.
In many cases, these operators are simply using the EPFO’s online grievance portal, something any member can do on their own, free of cost, from the comfort of their homes, the Ministry of Labour and Employment said in a statement issued on Monday.
“The stakeholders are cautioned against visiting or engaging with third-party companies or agents for EPFO-related services as this may expose their financial data to third party entities. These external entities are not authorized by EPFO and may charge unnecessary fees or compromise the security of personal information of members,” the statement read.
Further, the members can contact EPFO helpdesks/PROs at Regional offices as listed on the official website (www.epfindia.gov.in) for any issues.
The members can register their grievances on CPGRAMS or EPFiGMS portals which are monitored till their resolution in a time bound manner, the Ministry stated.
A total of 16,01,202 grievances were received in EPFiGMS and 1,74,328 in CPGRAMS in FY 2024-25. Out of these, 98 per cent of the grievances were redressed within timelines.
The Ministry stated that a series of reforms designed to make EPFO services faster, transparent and user-friendly for all its stakeholders.