Jaipur, Nov 29 (PTI) The Rajasthan Police has issued an advisory warning citizens about a surge in cyber frauds with criminals posing as income tax officials and luring people with fake refund messages.

Officials on Saturday said the alert came as an increasing number of people reported receiving messages and emails that promised large income tax refunds and asked for financial details to proceed.

"Fraudsters are impersonating income tax officials and informing people that they are entitled to a hefty refund," Additional Director General (Cyber Crime) Vijay Kumar Singh said.

He added that scammers typically ask for sensitive information such as bank account details, debit or credit card numbers, CVV codes, and OTPs. In many cases, victims are sent phishing links that redirect them to fake websites designed to steal this data.

Singh emphasised that the Income Tax Department never requests such information through SMS or email.

"The department already has these details from your ITR. It never asks for OTPs, passwords or CVVs via messages," he said.

The police advisory has urged people not to click on any unfamiliar links related to tax refunds and to verify all communications directly through the official income tax portal. PTI AG PRK PRK

Income tax refund scams use phishing links to steal bank and card details; verify refunds only via the official portal. A cyber-fraud advisory warns that scammers impersonate income tax officials to solicit bank and card details via SMS, email and phishing links, and emphasizes that the Income Tax Department does not request OTPs, CVVs or passwords by message; recipients should avoid unfamiliar links and verify refund communications only through the official income tax portal.