In this digital world,PAN and Aadhaar cards are often used for many of our daily uses. From creating a bank account to checking in some hotels, these cards are important. These cards hold our personal information. This information is needed as a proof of our identity for the above mentioned services.
Well, according to the PIB Fact Check there has been a rising scam executed through PAN cards. Through this scam , fraudsters are executing phishing scams by misusing your PAN card. Here’s a detailed explanation how you can get scammed and how to stay safe.
Understanding PAN scam
The latest scam is a PAN card fraud where scammers pretend to be a government official through an email. This mail asks you to download an e-PAN card online. PIB Fact Check highlights that the email comes with the subject “Download e-PAN Card Free Online: A Step-by-Step Guide”. This is fake and they have already reported them through a post on social media platform X (earlier Twitter).
So, how does the scam exactly work? The scammers execute a phishing scam by sending you an email. This email contains a step-by-step guidance on how to download your e-PAN card. The mail also contains links from where you can download the PAN card.
The safety nets
So, how can you stay safe from these scams? Given below are the safety steps which you can take to stay safe.
- In case you come across any mail or website pretending to come from the Income Tax department, avoid responding to them.
- Do not open any attachments which come along with such mails.
- Do not click on aunty links that you find suspicious.
- If any suspicious looking mail asks for your sensitive information, do not fill in those details.
- It is always advisable to mail a report to the website URL to webmanager@incometax.gov.in. You can also send a copy of the incident@cert-in.org.in.
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