Outlook Business Desk
The Income Tax Department (ITD) has issued a fresh warning about fake tax refund emails and messages designed to steal personal and financial details, urging taxpayers to stay alert during the ongoing filing and refund season.
Fraudsters are circulating emails that closely imitate official Income Tax messages, copying layouts and wording to deceive recipients into clicking links that seem legitimate but actually lead to harmful or fraudulent websites.
The department said these fraudulent messages often contain small spelling mistakes and fake web links. Clicking them can result in identity theft, banking fraud and misuse of sensitive taxpayer information.
The department has advised taxpayers to check all tax-related information only on the official Income Tax website and to avoid clicking on refund links shared through emails, text messages or social media platforms.
The Income Tax Department has urged taxpayers to immediately forward any suspicious emails to its official address and copy the national cybersecurity team, so authorities can quickly investigate and stop online tax scams.
The warning comes as phishing attempts typically rise during income tax filing and refund periods, when fraudsters exploit urgency and confusion among taxpayers expecting refunds or official communication.
The department emphasised that it never requests passwords, one-time passwords, bank account details or Aadhaar information via emails or unofficial links, and advised taxpayers to rely only on verified social media handles for updates.
The department has urged taxpayers to follow its verified social media handles for real-time updates and official announcements, while staying alert to any unusual or unverified messages that could be fraudulent.