I-T dept cautions people against fake e-mails promising refund

Amid growing cybersecurity concerns, the income tax department on Sunday (May 3) asked taxpayers to beware of phishing e-mails promising refund. “Taxpayers Beware! Please do not click on any fake link which promises to give refund. These are phishing messages and are not sent by the income tax department,” the department said in a tweet.

Taxpayers Beware!
Please do not click on any fake link which promises to give refund. These are phishing messages and are not sent by the Income Tax Department. Please read the details carefully here https://t.co/90VSq32w0K #StaySafe #IndiaFightsCorona #StayAtHome#BeAware pic.twitter.com/gfF2RZDTpu

— Income Tax India (@IncomeTaxIndia) May 3, 2020

According to the latest data, between April 8 and 20, the department issued nearly 14 lakh refunds involving an amount of over ₹9,000 crore to various taxpayers including individuals, Hindu Undivided Families, proprietors, firms, corporate, start-ups, and MSMEs.

On April 8, the finance ministry said it will fast-track issuance of pending income tax refunds up to ₹5 lakh which will benefit around 14 lakh taxpayers, to provide relief to individuals and businesses hit by the COVID-19 outbreak.

Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs had said the Zoom meeting app is not a safe platform for video conference and also issued a set of guidelines for those using it for private purposes.

The government’s warning came after India’s cyber security agency – Computer Emergency Response Team of India (CERT-in) had cautioned against the vulnerability of the app. The agency had pointed out that the app has significant weaknesses which can make users vulnerable to cyber attacks, including leakage of sensitive office information to criminals.

The video conferencing app is being used by thousands of professionals working from home in the wake of the lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 outbreak.

(With inputs from agencies)