Tax refund scam: Manual verification mail can polish off your bank account
As the Income Tax Return (ITR) filing season draws near, fraudsters are getting active. It is prudent to be aware about the tricks they are ready to unleash on unsuspecting taxpayers.
Kolkata: Fraudsters are constantly on the prowl to prey on unsuspecting citizens. As the ITR filing season of salaried employees is approaching fraudsters are getting active. One of the favourite ploys of fraudsters is to pose as income tax department officers who are willing to help with getting tax refunds.
If you receive emails from the Income Tax Department urging you to complete manual verification of personal details, beware. These are likely to be from fraudsters targeting you with phishing emails. These mails appear to be official. There is a standard modus operandi. These mails usually urge taxpayers to click on a link which is sent with the email. This link will contain slots of personal and/or financial information (such as PIN, passwords, debit/credit cards or other financial information) which one is told to fill. Alternatively, there could be attachment that has to be downloaded for "manual verification". It can also be for "e-verification."
Sample mail
The first word about such emails is that these are FAKE and none should click any such links sent in the mail or as an attachment. No information -- personal or financial -- should be shared with anyone be it on email or via a phone call. No Income Tax Official will ever send such an email to you or make such a phone call to ask for such information.
In fact government agencies have issued a sample mail which might appear as follows:
"Dear Taxpayer,
This is an official notification regarding your Income Tax Refund for Assessment Year 2024-25. Amount eligible: Rs 60,000.
Why manual verification?
As per latest RBI & PMLA norms, all refunds above Rs 25,000 require recipient confirmation to prevent unauthorized payouts and protect taxpayers." Never click on such mails and/or links attached to these, experts advise.
Refund the bait
The trick is to offer a bait of refunds of a significant amount which many might feel tempted to click and enquire. Income Tax deductions can also be used as a bait. The government has also urged citizens to report such incidents as soon as possible. Computer experts advise people to use antivirus software, firewalls etc. These also have to be kept updated. Some phishing mails can contain software that can harm the computer itself. Phishing refers to sending apparently innocent and apparently trustworthy electronic communication to gain access to information such as usernames, passwords and debit/credit card details which can allow a fraudster to extract financial benefits.