Three Tax Scams to Keep an Eye Out For

The Internal Revenue Service recently issued a press release warning consumers about a slew of new scams where identity thieves contact taxpayers pretending to be IRS agents.

"Filing season always triggers a lot of scams," says Michelle Lamishaw, an IRS spokeswoman. "There are so many even we can't keep them straight anymore." Many are newfangled twists on age-old frauds, such as the year-round streams of spam promising to unearth unclaimed tax refunds.

Here are the three latest scams the IRS is alerting consumers about this year:

Just hang up on anyone calling you about the tax rebate. "President Bush will make sure the signing of this bill is on the six o'clock news," says John W. Roth, a senior tax analyst with trade publisher CCH. Even when it does pass, the amount of the credit you receive is based on this year's return. You won't see any IRS communications about your specific eligibility until after filing season, he says. And those would be sent by mail, not via email or phone.