ITR refund scam FY2023-24: Don’t fall prey to this income tax refund scam, warns tax department

The Income Tax Department has alerted taxpayers to be cautious of fraudulent schemes. The department has cautioned individuals on social media to stay vigilant against deceptive calls and pop-up notifications claiming they are eligible for a tax refund.

Taxpayers are advised to be careful and verify any communication from the IT department through official channels.

Deadline for reassessment of these old ITRs approaching; Know who can get tax notice u/s 148 by August 31, 2024


Do not reply to emails or visit websites that request credit card numbers, bank account details, or any other sensitive information. The Income Tax Department may contact taxpayers through the email address provided.



The fake message may read like this:

You have been approved an Income Tax Refund of Rs, 15000/-, the amount will be credited to your account shortly, Please verify your account number 5XXXXX6777. If this is not correct, please update your bank account information by visiting the link below. https://bit.ly/20wpUUX


In another post, it stated, “A man lost rs 1.5 lakh after clicking on a fake refund message. He was directed to a fraudulent app, which led to his phone being hacked and money being debited from his account.

Income tax refund fraud: How to report

If you receive an email or discover a website that you believe is impersonating the Income Tax Department, please forward the email or website URL to webmanager@incometax.gov.in. A copy can also be sent to incident@cert-in.org.in.

ITR Refunds for FY2023-24 (AY2024-25): Who will receive tax refunds quicker, filers of ITR-1, ITR-2 or ITR-3?

You can forward the message as received or include the Internet header of the e-mail. The Internet header contains additional information that can assist us trace the sender.

After you forward the e-mail or header information to us, delete the message.

If you receive a phishing mail not pertaining to the Income Tax Department, forward the same to incident@cert-in.org.in

Note that 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.

Advisory from Income tax department
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:

• Do not reply.
• Do not open any attachments. Attachments may contain malicious code that will infect your computer.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.