Beware! An income tax refund scam is doing the rounds: How not to fall prey

PIB Fact Check, the fact-checking unit of the Press Information Bureau, has alerted people against fake messages regarding income tax return (ITR) refund. A viral message claims that that the recipient has been approved for an income tax refund of Rs 15,490.

According to the fact check tweet, the message reads, ” You have been approved an tax refund of Rs 15, 490/- the amount will be credited to your account number 5xxxxx6755. If this is not correct please update your bank account information by visiting the link below.”

However, the income tax department never givse a link for a refund if one is due. Notably, the refund is sent only after the ITR is duly processed by the Income Tax Department.Effective August 2023, the income tax department has made it mandatory for tax filers to e-verify their returns within 30 days of filing returns. If you don't verify it on time, your ITR will be considered invalid, meaning it is as good as you have not filed your return. 

In case the ITR is not processed and the tax department needs additional information, it sends an intimation to the registered email ids of taxpayers.

The PIB Fact check team advised, “Scammers are tricking taxpayers into updating their bank account information through fraudulent links. Be cautious of sharing any sensitive information and always verify the authenticity of messages before taking any action related to your income tax returns.”

 Additionally,   never provide any debit card or credit card information on websites that you are sent a link to by SMS because this could well be a phishing scam to steal your card information.

According to the Income tax website, “If you receive an e-mail or find a website you think is pretending to be of Income Tax Department, forward the e-mail or website URL to webmanager@incometax.gov.in. A copy may also be forwarded to incident@cert-in.org.in You may forward the message as received or provide the Internet header of the e-mail. The Internet header has additional information to help us locate the sender. After you forward the e-mail or header information to us, delete the message.”

Point to note: 

The Income Tax Department does not request detailed personal information through e-mail.

The Income Tax Department does not send e-mail requesting your PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks or other financial accounts.

If you receive an e-mail from someone claiming to be the authorized by Income Tax Department or directing you to an Income Tax website:

1. Do not reply.
2. Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that will infect your computer.
3. Do not click on any links. If you clicked on links in a suspicious e-mail or phishing website then do not enter confidential information like bank account, credit card details.
4. Do not cut and paste the link from the message into your browsers, phishers can make link look like real, but it actually send you to different websites.
5. Use anti-virus software, anti spyware, and a firewall and keep them updated. Some phishing e-mails contain software that can harm your computer or track your activities on the internet without your knowledge. Anti-virus & Anti-spyware software and firewall can protect you from inadvertently accepting such unwanted files.

What is Income Tax Refund?

If you paid more taxes than you were required to pay, you can claim the additional amount as income tax refund.   

"If the taxes paid (either by way of Advance Tax or TDS or TCS or Self-Assessment Tax) is more than the actual tax amount due, then the excess tax paid can be claimed as refund. The income tax department will recompute the taxes and validate the refund claim before initiating the refund," as per ClearTax.

Refund= Taxes paid (either by way of Advance Tax or TDS or TCS or Self-Assessment Tax) – Total tax liability on the current year income

How to get refund of excess income tax paid?

To get your income tax refund or TDS refund, all you need to do is file your Income Tax Return and declare your income, deduction and tax paid details to the Income Tax Department. It is important to remember that online filing of your ITR is a must to claim your Income Tax Refund.

How to claim income tax refund?

You can claim your income tax refund or TDS refund by filing your income tax return. The amount of refund receivable is computed and shown in the tax return.

How to check income tax refund status?

The Income Tax Department offers an online facility for tracking your Income Tax Refund and its status. Taxpayers can view the status of refund 10 days after their refund has been sent. You will have to type your PAN number and select the Assessment Year to check.

To view Refund/ Demand Status, please follow the below steps:

Login to e-Filing website with User ID, Password, Date of Birth / Date of Incorporation and Captcha.

Go to My Account and click on "Refund/Demand Status".

Below details would be displayed.

Assessment YearStatusReason (For Refund Failure if any)

Mode of Payment is displayed