New Delhi: Even as the issue of refund delays are concerning tax payers, an episode of ITR refund fraud has come to the limelight. Reportedly, fraudsters have duped a tax payer into losing Rs 1.5 lakh owing to ITR refund scam.
The notorious act was made possible due to phishing messages and fake portals.
Tax advisory platform TaxBuddy has shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) regarding the modus operandi of the scam.
— You get a message about a “pending refund”
— It asks you to verify details urgently
— You’re redirected to a fake portal
— They ask for PAN, login ID, OTP, bank details
— Your data gets stolen
TaxBuddy has said that since refund delays create anxiety, scammers use this to play with the tax payers’ mind. The fraudsters use Urgency, Fear of losing money and Final notice type language leading to panic situation among tax payers. And this is when, they click dubious links and compromise their data, explained TaxBuddy.
TaxBuddy said that taxpayers should be careful and identify the following Red flags
— Suspicious sender IDs
— Poor spelling or grammar
— Threats like “Refund will lapse”
— Any request for OTP or password
ITR filers should also know that Tax Dept does not send refund verification links via SMS, nor does it ask for OTP over call/message. The I-T department also does not collect bank details through random emails. Refund status is checked only via the official Income Tax e-Filing Portal.
You should always check your refund status via Income tax official website.
Check ITR and refund status online
You can check your refund status online through the Income Tax e-Filing portal or the NSDL TIN website. Here’s a detailed guide on how to check the status of your tax refund.
How to check ITR status?
To check ITR status, follow these steps:
Go to incometax official website
* Click Income Tax Return Status
* Enter your acknowledgement number and a valid mobile number and click Continue.
* Enter the 6-digit OTP received on your mobile number and click Submit.
* On successful validation, you will be able to view the ITR status.
How to check refund status?
To check ITR refund status, follow these steps:
* Click on the Know Your Refund Status link on the home page of the Income Tax portal.
* Enter PAN, Assessment Year and mobile number.
* Submit the OTP and the refund status will be visible.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
