Editor's note: This is a transcript of the audio file.
Tax season is prime hunting season for identity thieves and scammers. I'm Clark Palmer with your Bankrate.com personal finance minute.
Scammers know that people are worried about correctly filing their returns, and they use that anxiety to reel them into phishing schemes.
A recurring phishing scheme is an email alerting people of a problem with their filing or refund. But if the IRS really does have a question about your return, it will send you paper correspondence through the U.S. Postal Service.
And remember that the IRS never asks taxpayers for sensitive financial and personal information.
Some scammers promise tax-saving opportunities or creative tax deduction or tax credit techniques. They send emails with links that are gateways for viruses or programs that will give criminals access to your personal financial life.
Yyou should also think twice about clicking on links when you do a tax-related web search. Identity thieves are using search engine techniques to push their fake sites higher in search results.
If you want any information from the IRS, type in IRS.gov yourself. And let the IRS know about fake IRS sites or emails.
For more tax filing tips, visit Bankrate.com. I'm Clark Palmer.