As the deadline for income tax filing ended last year, scamsters are active again to trap unaware taxpayers through fake calls and messages.
Realising the gravity of the situation, the Income Tax Department has expressed concern about these cyber frauds. The department has issued an advisory through its social media account on X (formerly Twitter).
In a tweet, it informed taxpayers about such frauds occurring in the cyber world in the name of the department.
Revealing the modus operandi of scamsters, the IT authority said that fake emails, calls, and text messages are being sent to people. In the name of the department, these communications are being made using words and phrases like “Income Tax alert”, “pending approval”, “avoid penalty”, and “overdue tax refund”.
These text messages or calls direct users to click on links that resemble the income tax website, but these are actually fake websites developed to steal user data. Users are asked to input their details, such as the user ID and password of their IT filing account.
This may lead to identity theft, banking fraud, or misuse of the taxpayer’s information in illegal activities.
In the tweet, it also shared screenshots of typical fake messages. The department said that it does not ask taxpayers to share their information over calls.
Instead of falling prey to these scamsters, the department advised users to verify any tax-related information from the official website, that is, incometax.gov.in.
It also shared email IDs (webmanager@incometax.gov.in, incident@cert-in.org.in) to report such messages and calls so that immediate action can be taken to contain such activities.
The last date to file a delayed income tax return was December 31 last year. As the deadline is over, scamsters are taking advantage of elderly and unaware people.
As the formalisation of the economy is increasing, the number of taxpayers in India is rising fast. Between Assessment Year 2013-14 and 2024-25, the number of taxpayers has more than doubled from 5.26 crore to 12.12 crore.
