Beware of Fake Income Tax Refund Messages

NEW DELHI: Cyber criminals are using SMS, pretending to be from the Income Tax Department, to trick people into sharing bank details.

According to the Pune-based Quick Heal Technologies, the messages open on a positive note to attract the recipient’s attention, saying he/she has been approved an income-tax refund of certain amount.

The message is then followed by a wrong bank account number and asks the recipient to click a link if the account number is not correct, thereby making him/her a naive victim.

The fraudulent link opens up a website similar to the IT Department site, and the victim is asked to enter their login details created on the IT Department website, says Quick Heal.

Without wasting any time, the victim is asked to enter the correct bank account details.

Once the fraudster has the correct bank details, they call the victim posing as I-T officials. They are convinced that they have been irregular with their IT returns and thus are required to pay the requested fine.

Unfortunately, the scam does not stop at that.

With access to the correct login details on IT department website, the fraudsters transfer funds from victim’s account to their own accounts or simply modify details, like phone number and email ID, which are often used for validation purpose, says Quick Heal.

While people cannot completely stop such messages from landing into their inbox, as a precautionary measure they should not share financial details, like bank account number, pin and OTP, by responding to messages, emails or phone calls.

One should not click on links or attachments received through SMS or emails unless absolutely sure, as these may be malicious, says Quick Heal. (IANS)

Also Read: Government extends deadline for filing Income Tax Return for Financial Year 2019 to Aug 31

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