If you receive a message showing that your income tax refund has been approved, whether it be for Rs. 15,490 or any other sum, and it asks to update or verify your bank account in order to collect the refund, ignore it as a fraud and refrain from replying.
A large number of taxpayers are receiving valid refunds upon income tax return (ITR) filing from the tax department as the deadline has ended for filing non-audit income tax returns. Unfortunately, scammers are using this opportunity to deceive people by sending them fake income tax refund mails/messages. Be careful and avoid falling for such false mail.
One particular spam message that has gained widespread attention was shared by the Government’s official fact-checker, PIB FactCheck. The message contains the following content: “Dear Sir, You have been approved an income tax refund of Rs. 15,490/-, the amount will be credited to your account shortly. Please verify your account number 5*8564. If this is not correct, please update your bank account information by visiting the link below. https://bit.ly/#######”. The income tax department also retweeted the same message.
The income tax department will never ask for bank account details, updates, or verification through messaging, so taxpayers should be aware of this. Refunds of income taxes are directly transferred into pre-approved bank accounts that taxpayers provide when filing forms. The income tax division also contacts taxpayers via their registered mobile and email addresses to inform them of the refund.
Important: Alert Taxpayers! Scammers Sending Links to Steal Money During ITR Filing Time
Refunds are only given after the government has properly completed the income tax return (ITR) process. Taxpayers will be notified via notifications sent to their registered email IDs if there are any problems with the ITR processing and the tax department needs more information.
It’s advised to avoid clicking any links you get in SMS or other messaging apps. Only reply to official communication received from the Income Tax Department. Report the message to the Income Tax Department if you get one asking you to click on a link to update or verify your bank details.
For salaried workers and other people whose accounts do not need to be audited, the income tax return (ITR) filing due date was July 31, 2023. Taxpayers who missed the due date still can file ITR till December 31, but they will be charged a late fee and additional penalties.
As of July 31, more than 6.7 crore ITRs were filed by taxpayers. Among these, the Income Tax Department processed over 3.44 crore returns by the due date.
