In recent days, incidents of fraud related to money have been increasing rapidly. Fraudsters have become quite common in deceiving individuals by claiming to provide income tax refunds or using banks, credit cards, or KYC services to cheat people. Many people are now aware of such fraudulent activities and have become vigilant. In this situation, scammers have come up with a new way to target taxpayers and loot their money.
Cyber scammers are targeting taxpayers by making them fools under the pretext of income tax refunds. According to a fact-check tweet by the PIB (Press Information Bureau), a viral message claims that a person has been approved for an income tax refund of Rs 15,490. The message further instructs the recipient to update their banking information through a link provided if the information is incorrect.
It is important to note that the Income Tax Department does not send such messages regarding refunds. Additionally, one should avoid providing any banking information through SMS links received from unknown sources as they could be phishing attempts. The Income Tax Department never asks for anyone’s banking details, PAN number, password, or credit card details through email.
To ensure your safety, never open any link or attachment received from unknown sources. If you mistakenly clicked on any suspicious link, avoid providing any banking information. Also, never paste a link from a message directly into your browser. If you receive such a mail, you can report it to webmanager@incometax.gov.in.
