HispanicBusiness

Some consumers feel they're being ripped off at tax time, but the Internal Revenue Service warns that there are real crooks out there, posing as the tax collectors.

Every year the agency receives thousands of reports from taxpayers who receive emails out of the blue claiming to be from the IRS. The scammers use the IRS name or logo to make the message appear authentic so recipients will respond to it.

If they do, the crooks try to trick them into revealing personal and financial information to use in committing identity theft or to steal their money.

The IRS has this advice for anyone who receives an email claiming to be from the IRS or directing you to an IRS site:

Do not reply to the message; do not open any attachments (they may contain malicious code that will infect your computer); and do not click on any links in a suspicious email.