Hyderabad: Messages in the form of SMS’ from the Income Tax Department asking you to open a link and submit bank details to collect tax refunds is a new way of phishing and conning gullible people.
Fraudsters ask people to collect their income tax refund by clicking on a link and punch in their banking credentials.
An official from the Income Tax Department told this newspaper that they never send links to people and all payments are made only through a secure log in on their website.
“In recent times, there has been an increase in fraudulent SMSes, wherein people have been asked to give their income and bank details. This needs to be handled very carefully,” said an official, adding that such details can give scamsters the ability to siphon off funds and carry out identity thefts.
A senior official from the Grievance Redressal Mechanism, R. Jagan Mohan Rao, urged people to be cautious. “We have a helpline and want taxpayers to use that whenever there is a doubt. We understand that there are fake emails and SMSes doing the rounds but citizens must check the details and match them with the data provided while filing. We would never send links to people claiming that they would get tax refunds. Everyone must log in through the website,” the official added.
