ITR filing 2025: Avoid Scams Using These 7 Steps While Filing Income Tax Returns

Since the income tax filing season is here it is important to start filing income tax returns (ITR) even though the Income Tax Department has extended the deadline to file ITR to Monday, September 15, 2025.

The government has made the process of filing income tax returns far easier as compared to before, however, this ease of completing tasks online at the click of a button has also paved way for cyber crimes.

Cyber criminals make these attacks with the intention of stealing your personal information or money.

Additionally, during the tax filing season, scams are also on the rise, targeting people as they are preparing to submit their Income Tax Returns (ITR).

ITR Filing 2025

According to a report by the State Bank of India, 82 million ITRs had been filed as of December 31, 2023, for the assessment year 2024, and the number was expected to exceed 85 million by the end of the financial year.

The government has been pushing more and more people to pay taxes and this has resulted in a nearly 90% rise in the number of individual tax returns that have been filed between 2013-2014 and 2021-22.

This rise has also given scammers an opportunity to target taxpayers using emails and messages that try to exploit their sense of urgency or catch them off guard.

Avoid Scams Using These 7 Steps

Here are seven steps which you can use to avoid scams:

Fake IT Notices And Calls: Scammers often pretend to call from the Income Tax Department and send fake notices through texts and emails. It is important to avoid opening the links and attachments that come along with such mails and messages in order to stay safe.

Using Secure Payment Methods: Sticking to debit or credit cards while making online payments is very important if you want to stay safe and not get scammed in the process. Cards mostly come with extra security features like tokenisation, preventing personal data from being shared with third parties.

Turn On Alerts: Setting up transaction alerts is always a safe option as your bank will notify you of every transaction, making it easier for you to spot any suspicious activity.

Confirm Requests: It is very important to double check the legitimacy of any payment request before making payments as payments that threaten urgency or legal action are usually fraudulent.

Keeping Private Information Safe: While filing ITR it is also important to keep sensitive information such as card details, PINs, or CVV numbers private and one should not share this information. So it is important to not file ITR using public wifi networks.

Remove Personal Information From Unreliable Sites: You also need to take control of your privacy by deleting your information from suspicious data broker websites. These sites collect data from public records, loyalty programs, and apps, and sharing such sensitive information can put your finances and privacy at risk.

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