ITR Refund Fraud Alert: Scammers are sending this message to cheat taxpayers
The Income Tax Department does not send refund links via SMS or email, nor does it request sensitive information like PINs or passwords through such means. Taxpayers are urged to report such suspicious emails or website links.
The Press Information Bureau's fact-checking unit, PIB Fact Check, has raised an alarm about a new phishing scam relating to Income Tax Return (ITR) filing and refunds. A deceptive message has been circulating, claiming that the recipient is entitled to an income tax refund of Rs 15,490. The PIB Fact Check has unambiguously stated that this claim is false and has not been issued by the Income Tax Department of India, urging taxpayers to exercise caution and not disclose personal information based on such messages.
webmanager@incometax.gov.in and incident@cert-in.org.in for official investigation. Furthermore, the Income Tax Department recommends using two-factor authentication for online banking for enhanced security.
For genuine status updates of ITR, taxpayers can directly access www.incometax.gov.in using their PAN/Aadhaar number and password. Following this, selecting 'Income tax returns' under the 'e-file' option will display the most recent ITR filed. It is also worth noting that a legitimate ITR refund is only processed by the Income Tax Department after due diligence and is typically issued within 7 to 120 days from the date the return was filed.
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