Beware of password hacking! As the digital payment increased, the Income Tax Department has asked people to exercise caution against sharing their user ID and password with any unauthorised person as it may lead to stealing of money and other sensitive information.
It has also warned against storing passwords in one’s email or in any other form on the computer. “If the email or computer account is hacked, then the perpetrator could misuse the passwords, steal money from your bank accounts, misuse your email account or credit/debit card to access sensitive information from your machine,” the centralised processing cell of the tax department said in an advisory.
The department also cautioned against writing the password on notepads. Using the same password for different accounts is also not advisable, it said.
“Using the same password for more than one account is similar to carrying one key that unlocks your house, car, office and safety deposit box. One lost key could let a mischievous unauthorised user unlock all doors,” it added.
“You are requested to similarly treat the Digital Signature Certificate with utmost security,” it said. The tax department asked users to secure their password with at least eight characters in length and a combination of lower and upper case, numeric and special characters.
Separately, the department has identified an additional 67+ lakh potential non-filers who carried out high value transactions between 2014 – 2015, but did not file returns.