Cyber Dost Alerts to Taxpayers: The deadline for filing Income Tax Return (ITR) for the financial year 2023-24 i.e. Assessment Year 2024-25 was 31 July 2024. Till this date, more than 7 crore tax returns were filed this year. The government has given advice to those taxpayers who have not yet received refund after filing the return. Let’s know.
Actually, scammers are adopting various tricks to harm the taxpayers who are waiting for refund after filing tax returns. They are sending fake messages related to refund to make the taxpayers victims of fraud. The entire bank balance of the taxpayers who respond to the message can be emptied in one go. In such a situation, the government has alerted the taxpayers to protect them from refund scam.
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Advice not to share important information with others
Cyber Dost, the cyber wing of the Government of India, is constantly making people aware through its social media platform to be cautious and avoid fraud. In a post made through its social media account on July 28 last month, taxpayers were advised to beware of refund scams. Cyber Dost said that fraudsters are sending such messages with the aim of deceiving people. In the message, they are claiming that the refund will come to your account soon. They are also talking about verifying the account number. Along with this, the fraudsters are also claiming through the message that if your details are not correct then they can update the bank account. For this, links have also been shared in the message.
Beware of the income tax refund scam! Fraudsters are sending messages like this one claiming you’ve got a refund. Always verify through official channels to protect your financial information. Stay alert! #TaxScam #FraudAlert #I4C #MHA #Cyberdast @HMOIndia @FinMinIndia pic.twitter.com/UrG30IO4n9
— Cyberdost (@Cyberdost) July 28, 2024
Cyber Dost has advised the taxpayers to always verify the refund related updates through the official platform and be cautious to protect their financial information. Experts say that fraudsters keep adopting new tricks to rob people, the brunt of which has to be borne by the general public. In such a situation, people are appealed to ignore such messages.
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Do this work when you get such a message
To avoid refund scam, it is advisable not to respond to such messages. Do not click on the link in the message. Along with not responding to such messages, do not share bank details or other important information with anyone. Avoid following suspicious links. Do not click on income tax refund emails and links. If you link believing the fake claims made by the fraudsters to be true, they will take you directly to fake websites or apps. If you fall into their trap, you may become a victim of fraud. The government says that if you become a victim of any kind of fraud, immediately register your complaint on the cyber cell portal cybercrime.gov.in or by calling 1930.
7.28 crore tax returns filed till July 31
The Finance Ministry has said in a statement that taxpayers and tax experts showed a lot of interest this time, due to which there was a significant increase in the number of people filing ITR. The statement said that record ITRs were filed till July 31 this year.
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The Finance Ministry said that a total of more than 7.28 crore tax returns were filed for AY 2024-25 till July 31, 2024, while 6.77 crore returns were filed for AY 2023-24 till the same date a year ago. This time the number of ITR filers was 7.5% higher than last year.