Many e-mail fraud scams circulate during tax time using the Internal Revenue Service ( IRS ) name or logo to trick recipients into revealing personal and financial information. These ” phishing ” scammers then use the information — Social Security numbers, bank routing and account numbers and credit card numbers — to steal identities and empty bank accounts.

IRS impersonation scams contact taxpayers through e-mails, titter tweets or other online messages. They use phones and faxes, equipped with ” Caller ID spoofing ” software to make it appear the calls originate with the IRS, to reach and trick intended victims. Scammers also set up phony Web sites.

IRS Fraud e-mails: The IRS does not send unsolicited e-mails about a person’s tax account or ask for detailed personal and financial information via e-mail, tweets etc.

The IRS never asks taxpayers for their PINs, passwords or similar secret access information for their credit card, bank or other financial accounts.

If you receive an e-mail from someone claiming to represent the IRS or directing you to an ” IRS site ” do not reply to the message. Do not open attachments, as they often contain ” malicious code ” that infects your computer and turns it into their computer. Do not click on links in the e-mail.

If you did click on a link in suspicious e-mail or signed onto a phishing Web site and entered confidential information, visit tulsaworld.com/irs and enter the search term ” identity theft ” for helpful information on stopping identity theft.

You can help shut down these schemes and prevent others from being victimized by forwarding suspicious e-mails to phishing@irs.gov. Forward it “as received” or provide the e-mail’s “Internet header.” Header information is used by the IRS to find scam senders.