Beware tax refund fraud: Verify your source before clicking on links

Verify source before clicking on links; enter address of tax dept's official website directly into browser

The income-tax (I-T) department has shared cautionary advice for taxpayers regarding the latest scam involving tax returns. Even the Press Information Bureau of India has reiterated the same on social media.

Vipul Jai, partner at PSL Advocates and Solicitors, states, “Taxpayers have recently been alerted by the I-T department to exercise caution with messages purporting to inform them about I-T refunds, as these could be phishing scams.”

Modus operandi

Scammers send messages informing the taxpayer that a tax refund has been credited to their account. These messages often contain an incorrect account number that doesn’t match the taxpayer’s registered account.