This being the time of filing income tax (IT) returns, beware of online fraudsters who are on prowl targeting gullible people by sending fraudulent mails seeking such personal details bank accounts and so on, which could result in your losing money.
Everything in the mail may look authentic, including the name and logo of Income Tax Department; even the mail ID could pass off as the real thing, enticing you with a refund in exchange for sharing personal information.
A typical fraudulent mail would read, “As part of our duty this 2013, we have reviewed your tax fiscal payment for previous years and have resolved that you are qualified for a refund settlement of the sum of 37,120.25 INR which is accumulated tax excesses (sic). Please submit a tax refund request and allow us to process it within 7 working days.”
ADVERTISEMENT
This was one such mail received by an assessee recently. Further, the attachment has a verification page where you will be asked to confirm account details.
Beware of such mails
Following reports of many such entrapments, the Income Tax Department has put out a notice on its website clarifying that it never ever asks for PIN, password or similar access information for credit cards, banks or financial accounts through email, a senior IT official said. The cautionary note appears as soon as one logs into the official page of Income Tax Deparment.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We are working with the Information Technology Department to overcome such a problem, but it would take time. Till that time, anyone getting such mails can contact us and also the police so that such websites or mails can be tracked,” the official said.