In an advisory issued to the taxpayers, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has asked to be careful with their income tax e-filing account in order to secure the same from any misuse by any unauthorized person. The Board asked to report any such cases to the authorities at the earliest.

“If you think your e-Filing account may have been compromised or accessed in an unauthorized manner, then you may be a victim of cybercrime. Please report the incident to the concerned police or cyber-cell authorities as a first step,” the I-T department said in an advisory.

According to the tax department, the taxpayers can file online criminal complaints or FIR by visiting https://cybercrime.gov.in/, an initiative of the Government of India. The portal facilitates the filing of complainants and reporting cybercrime complaints online. Any information pertaining to the cybercrime will be shared by the income tax department with the relevant law enforcement authorities.

“As a general precaution, please do not share your login credentials or other sensitive information,” the income tax department said.

The e-filing account of an individual or entity is accessed by logging on to the web portal of the department– https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in and is used by taxpayers to file their income tax returns (ITRs) and perform a host of other tax-related works.

A senior official said the advisory has been issued in the wake of increased vulnerability and attacks on online systems as the country and the world battle the COVID-19 pandemic and more online systems are being used due to a major scaling down of human interface.