As the filing window for the FY23 Income Tax Return (ITR) closed on July 31, many taxpayers who had paid additional income tax and expected a return began receiving notifications alerting them of their refund amount. In addition, spammers have started defrauding gullible taxpayers by sending them a bogus messages with a link that can wipe their bank accounts clean.
The Income Tax Department has issued a warning that any communication purporting to pay taxpayers an income tax refund of Rs 15,490 or any other sum is fraudulent. Any unsuspecting taxpayer who clicks on the link in the message to “verify or update bank account” in order to receive the message can be taken advantage of.
The Income Tax Department took Twitter to share the information. The tweet goes as follows, “A viral message claims that the recipient has been approved for an income tax refund of 15,490.” This assertion is false. @IncomeTaxIndia has not sent this message. Be wary of such scams and avoid disclosing personal information.”