Last Thursday, the Internal Revenue Service warned taxpayers to beware of identity thieves using fake IRS e-mails in a widespread phishing scam.

The IRS said taxpayers reported almost 700 attempted incidents of identity theft via phishing in May and June, and has received some 1,600 reports in all of 2008.

WebWatch was sent one of these e-mails, which we've pasted below. An IRS employee who was forwarded this e-mail also offers some useful advice in identifying these scams:

"This one is pretty clever, but this is a phishing expedition. Note: it's coming from irs@refund.com and the only address we use as a venue to "provide" information is via www.irs.gov. Further, we NEVER send emails to anyone."

Also, the lousy grammar of the first sentence, "Over 130 million Americans will receive refunds as part of President Bush program to jumpstart economy," is also a dead giveaway, as we've noted before.

So if you get an e-mail from the IRS like the one below, delete with extreme prejudice!

-----Original Message-----
From: Internal Revenue Service [mailto:irs@refund.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 11:41 AM
Subject: Economic Stimulus Refund
Importance: High

Economic Stimulus Refund
Issue Number: SP-ESR 2008
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Over 130 million Americans will receive refunds as part of President Bush program to jumpstart economy. Our records indicate that you are qualified to receive the 2008 Economic Stimulus Refund. The fastest and easiest way to receive your refund is by direct deposit to your checking/savings account. Please follow the link and fill out the form and submit before July 4, 2008 to ensure that your refund will be processed as soon as possible.

Submitting your form on July 4, 2008 or later means that your refund will be delayed due to the volume of requests we anticipate for the Economic Stimulus Refund.

To access Economic Stimulus Refund, please click here.
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