Government scam guide
Tax refund scam
Tax refund scams impersonate tax departments or consultants and direct users to fake refund forms, APKs, or links that collect PAN, bank details, passwords, or OTPs.
Risk signal
Refund lure
Severity
high
Group
Government
Common identifiers
Add identifiers that can be matched safely across reports, profiles, payments, and evidence without exposing unnecessary private data.
Use the exact email shown by the scammer so CheckKaroo can link repeat signals and avoid weak matches.
SMS
Use the exact sms shown by the scammer so CheckKaroo can link repeat signals and avoid weak matches.
Refund URL
Use the exact refund url shown by the scammer so CheckKaroo can link repeat signals and avoid weak matches.
Bank account
Use the exact bank account shown by the scammer so CheckKaroo can link repeat signals and avoid weak matches.
Evidence to preserve
Keep proof in original form where possible. Screenshots help, but transaction IDs, URLs, timestamps, and chat context make moderation stronger.
Refund message
Capture refund message with date, time, sender, URL, or transaction context visible where possible.
Fake portal URL
Capture fake portal url with date, time, sender, URL, or transaction context visible where possible.
Submitted form
Capture submitted form with date, time, sender, URL, or transaction context visible where possible.
Transaction alerts
Capture transaction alerts with date, time, sender, URL, or transaction context visible where possible.
First response
These steps reduce further loss and keep your report useful for review, banking escalation, platform reporting, and official complaints.
Use official tax portal only
Do this early: use official tax portal only helps reduce repeat contact, preserve proof, and keep escalation options open.
Do not share OTPs
Do this early: do not share otps helps reduce repeat contact, preserve proof, and keep escalation options open.
Change credentials if submitted
Do this early: change credentials if submitted helps reduce repeat contact, preserve proof, and keep escalation options open.
Urgent money loss
If money was recently transferred, call 1930 first and raise a bank or payment-app dispute. Speed matters for fund-freeze attempts.
Privacy boundary
Do not upload OTPs, passwords, full card numbers, full Aadhaar, private documents, or unrelated intimate media. Use masked, relevant evidence whenever possible.
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