Fake Tax Notice Email Scam by email

How it looks by email, the red flags and what to do.

Email scams copy the logos, colours and wording of real companies, and the sender address often differs from the real one by one letter. Fake Tax Notice Email Scam is one of the ways this shows up: An email with a tax notice or demand pushes you to open an attachment or pay a penalty. See how fake notices steal logins and how to check real ones.

What fake tax notice email scam looks like by email

• A generic greeting instead of your name.
• A login page that opens from the email and asks for your password and OTP.
• A sender address that is almost, but not exactly, the real domain.

The scammer copies the style of tax department emails, with a case number and an official-sounding subject such as 'Final notice under verification'. The sender's address looks close to a real government domain. Salaried people, small business owners and senior citizens receive the message, especially around due dates when worry about returns is already high.

Red flags to check on the email

• A tax notice that arrives with a link or attachment and a deadline of hours.
• A sender address that is close to, but not exactly, a government domain.
• A login page reached from an email, asking for the OTP.
• A penalty demanded by UPI to a personal name.
• The sender address has an extra word or letter.
• The tone is urgent and the grammar is slightly off.

What to do

1. Do not open the attachment or link. Log in to the official portal by typing its address.
2. Check the notices and e-proceedings section of your own account.
3. Ask your tax professional to review any notice before replying.
4. If you typed a password on the page, change it at once and turn on two-step verification.
5. Do not open the attachment and do not press the button.
6. Go to the company website by typing it yourself and check your account there.

Use Report phishing in your email app. If money or accounts are affected, call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in.

If money or a code is already gone

1. Change your portal and email passwords from a clean device.
2. Call 1930 and report at cybercrime.gov.in if you lost money.
3. Tell your bank on the number printed on your card if card or bank details were shared.
4. Check your registered mobile number, email and bank account on the portal.

National Cyber Crime Helpline: 1930; report at cybercrime.gov.in.

Safeavio's link check can look at the link in a tax email before you open it and warn about lookalike domains, shortened links and risky patterns, and the scam check on pasted email text marks the threat, the deadline and the penalty demand. It cannot open attachments for you or log in to the portal, so check notices only inside your own account.

Full guide: Fake Tax Notice Email Scam: how it works, signs and what to do. Other channels: SMS, WhatsApp, phone call.

Questions