Did you receive this SMS on ITR refund claims? Government issues scam alert

Messages purporting to be from banks, credit cards, or KYC services that are sent to individuals to deceive them are extremely prevalent at present. The latest fraud that is currently going viral targets taxpayers and is similar to the bogus PAN update hoax.

According to an official tweet from PIB Fact Check, "a circulating message claims the recipient has been approved for a Rs 15,490 income tax refund." According to the tweet, the message states, "You have been approved for a tax refund of Rs 15, 490. The amount will be credited to your account number 5xxx6755. If this information is incorrect, please amend your bank account details by clicking the link below."

Users should be aware that the IT department will not provide a link for a refund if one is due. In addition, you should avoid entering your debit or credit card information on websites to which you are sent a link via SMS, as this could be a phishing scam designed to take your card information.

The Department of Income Tax does not request comprehensive personal information via e-mail and does not send e-mails requesting PIN numbers, passwords, or other similar access information for credit cards, banks, or other financial accounts.

Precautions

If you receive an e-mail from someone claiming to be the authorized by Income Tax Department or directing you to an Income Tax website:

• Do not reply.
• Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that will infect your computer.
• Do not click on any links. If you clicked on links in a suspicious e-mail or phishing website then do not enter confidential information like bank account, credit card details.
• Do not cut and paste the link from the message into your browsers, phishers can make link look like real, but it actually send you to different websites.
• Protect your computer with up-to-date firewall, anti-malware, and anti-spyware software. Certain phishing emails may inadvertently have malware that will damage your machine or monitor your online activities.Firewalls, anti-virus programmes, and anti-spyware utilities can all help prevent you from unwittingly downloading malicious software.

Fake ITR reporting

The official Income Tax website states, "If you receive an email or find a website you think is pretending to be of Income Tax Department, forward the email or website URL to webmanager@incometax.gov.in." Incidents can also be reported via email to incident@cert-in.org.in. You can either forward the email as received or provide the Internet header. The Internet header contains additional metadata that can be used to track down the sender. Once you've forwarded the email or header information to us, you can safely delete the original message.

ITR status checks are available both before and after logging in. Once you have logged in and checked the status of your ITR, you will have access to further features, such as downloading the return or intimation. If you want to use this service without logging in, you'll need to submit a valid ITR acknowledgement number.

How to check Income tax return status online

The income tax refund status can be tracked on the government's new income tax portal by following the steps below:

1. Visit www.incometax.gov.in, input your PAN or Aadhaar number as your user ID, and your password to access your account.

2. Once logged in, select the 'e-file' tab. Select "Income Tax Returns" under "e-file," followed by "View Filed Returns."

Step 3: Check the latest ITR filed.

Step 4: Select 'View Details' option.

Once the ITR is selected, the filing status will be shown. It will also show the date tax refunds were issued, the amount of the return, and the date the refund was cleared.

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