Aug 04, 2017 11:11 AM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com
Taxpayers should be aware that they may inadvertently disclose financial details to fraudsters by clicking on malicious emails claiming to be from the tax department.
With the deadline to file income tax return ending on August 5, taxpayers are scrambling to various sources to get their taxes in order. Several websites help file their ITR with ease and within minutes, but caution needs to be exercised while doing so.In the frenzy to file income tax return (ITR), however, taxpayers may fail to pay attention to finer details. Thus, taxpayers should be aware of frauds prevalent in the online space.
Here are the key factors one should be aware of while filing ITR:
> Malicious emails and SMSes
One might receive an email, claiming to be from the Income Tax Department, informing about an error while filing the ITR. Be careful of such mails as it may not be from the official e-mail of IT department. These fake emails may direct the customers to another website seeking one's financial details.The Cyber Crime Department of Delhi Police had earlier sent an alert on the circulation of such mails from a fraud website.
The Income Tax Department had extended the deadline to file an ITR to August 5 following several complaints from the tax payers regarding the inability to file return on the income tax efiling website.After receiving an ITR acknowledgement the taxpayers can verify whether the ITR-V on the efiling website www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.
> Communication through registered email address
Another key point to keep while filing income tax online is that the income tax department will primarily issue notices or other communication through registered e-mail address. The tax payers should be alert if such emails are received in the non-registered email addresses.
Watch | Filing Your Income Tax Returns? 10 changes in ITR Procedures This Year
> Sharing PINs or passwords over email The Income Tax Department had earlier informed taxpayers that the department never asks for their PIN numbers, passwords or access to their bank accounts through e-mails.Tax payers should strictly avoid sharing information related to financial accounts, or credit cards via such e-mails.The taxpayers can report such phishing e-mails by forwarding them to incident@cert-in.org.in, which is a government agency mandated to fight against such threats.
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