A new phishing scam in the guise of an ‘income tax refund’ message has gone viral, prompting the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s fact-checking arm, PIB Fact Check, to issue a cautionary advice to taxpayers.
“Scammers are tricking taxpayers into updating their bank account information through fraudulent links. Be cautious of sharing any sensitive information and always verify the authenticity of messages before taking any action related to your income tax returns,” PIB Fact check advised.
PIB Fact check said in an official Tweet: “A viral message claims that the recipient has been approved for an income tax refund of Rs 15,490. This claim is fake. @IncomeTaxIndia has not sent this message. Beware of such scams & refrain from sharing your personal information.”
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The Tweet also posted a picture of the fake message.
The fake message reads, ‘You have been approved an tax refund of Rs 15, 490/- the amount will be credited to your account number 5xxxxx6755. If this is not correct please update your bank account information by visiting the link below.
As the ministry has already confirmed that the message is fake, here are certain key things that taxpayers should remember to avoid falling victim to such scams.
First, the income tax department never sends refund links via SMS or email. Second, they do not request for personal information, such as PIN or passwords through email.
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Lastly, as a safe practice, avoid sharing your debit card or credit card information on websites sent through SMS, as they could be phishing scams.
What Should You Do
If you receive suspicious emails or website links claiming to be from the income tax department, here’s a list of things you should do.
Do not reply, open the attachments, click on the link, or even copy paste the link onto your browser. It could instal malware into your system, among others.
“Do not cut and paste the link from the message into your browsers, phishers can make link look like real, but it actually send you to different websites,” the income tax website says.
As a precaution, use updated antivirus software, anti-spyware, and a firewall to protect your computer from potential harmful files.
If you come across fake ITR reporting or phishing attempts, forward the email or website URL to webmanager@incometax.gov.in and incident@cert-in.org.in for investigation.
“You may forward the message as received or provide the Internet header of the e-mail. After you forward the e-mail or header information to us, delete the message,” the income tax department says.
Also, protect your online banking with two-factor authentication. You must enter your password and OTP each time you access your account. You can also use your fingerprint as a second password.
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Further, if you want to know the status of your ITR Return, directly visit www.incometax.gov.in and log in with your PAN/Aadhaar number and password. Under the ‘e-file’ option, select ‘Income tax returns’ and then ‘View Filed returns’ to check the latest ITR filed.
