Cyber fraudsters are reportedly laying a new trap to cheat tax payers taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic. Messages have been doing rounds on various social media platforms and also text messages are being sent to the citizens, mostly GST (Goods and Services Tax) payers, asking them to register on a website by clicking on a link saying the government will refund the tax money. The fraudulent link takes the customer to a fake website where personal and bank account details are collected.
Recently, several tax payers received such phishing messages to their phones asking for their personal details. The message says that due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Central government has started online processing of GST refund and asking the target to click a link to claim the refund.
The link directs the customers to another tab which asks for card details including the card number, CVV (Card Verification Value) code and the date of birth. The Press Information Bureau’s fact checking team has confirmed that the messages on social media about online claims of GST refund are fake.
“Please beware tax payers. Do not click on any fake link which promises to give refund. These are phishing messages and are not sent by the Central government agencies. Please visit the authentic site (gst.gov.in) for online filings related to the GST,” said a cybercrime official from Hyderabad. These fraudsters with their tactics obtain the CVV code and steal money from the customers’ accounts, the official added.
According to the Hyderabad Cybercrime police, cyber criminals set up a fraudulent website that contains copies of pages from a genuine website in order to capture confidential information from users. By hacking into the internet’s DNS (Domain Names System) servers and changing IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, users are automatically redirected to the fake website, at least for some period of time until the DNS records can be restored.
The bogus site could collect usernames and passwords or using some pretense request additional financial information. User’s complete personal data is stolen, officials said. “No such scheme has been launched by the government of India. Beware of such fake and fraudulent sites collecting your personal information,” said a Cybercrime official.
Spreading of misinformation and fraudulent links are not new and many do become a victim of such messages, he said. “We recommend users to forward a piece of information only after verifying it with the police or authorities concerned and making sure it is not something fraudulent, specifically during the pandemic,” police said.
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