Amid cyber fraud concerns, Census 2027 adds QR code verification for door-to-door visits

New Delhi: Amid a rise in cyber fraud cases involving impersonation and fake government officials, authorities have implemented a QR code-based verification mechanism for enumerators and supervisors visiting households for Census 2027 in the capital.

This move aims to make the door-to-door enumeration in Municipal Corporation of Delhi areas, beginning May 16, more secure and effective.

Officials of the Office of the Registrar General and Census told PTI that all enumerators and supervisors (E&S) deployed for the exercise will carry an appointment letter and an identity card issued by the charge officer. Both documents will have embedded QR codes that residents can scan to verify their authenticity.

"If there is any doubt or suspicion, household members can verify the visiting personnel by checking their appointment letter and identity card. They can also scan the QR code printed on these documents to confirm authenticity," officials said.

The safeguard comes when several cyber fraud cases have surfaced across the country.

Fraudsters pose as law enforcement or government officials to dupe people using fake documents, impersonation and digital verification requests.

Officials said recent "digital arrest" scams and fake census-related messages circulated online have heightened concerns over impersonation-based fraud.

Officials reported that under the ongoing self-enumeration exercise, 93,521 self-enumerations were recorded on Monday, including 77,372 completed cases and 16,149 initiated cases, resulting in an overall completion rate of 82.73 per cent.

Officials said most entries were registered by residents of the North East, South West, and North West Delhi districts.

According to officials, if a household cannot geo-tag its location with exact precision, it may tag a nearby location instead. In such cases, the enumerator will download the map of the concerned HLB (House listing and Housing Phase) and all self-enumeration IDs linked to that block for verification during field visits.

During door-to-door House Listing Operations (HLO), enumerators will ask households to provide their self-enumeration IDs and match them with the tagged households in the HLB.

If the self-enumeration ID does not correspond to any listed house or building in the block, the enumerator will collect the household details afresh.

To strengthen oversight, one supervisor will monitor the HLO for every six HLBs.

According to officials, the layered verification system is expected to make the census process smoother and more reliable, while helping households navigate the exercise with greater confidence when concerns over digital fraud remain high.

Officials said the QR-based verification system has been designed to reassure households and build public confidence in the enumeration process.