The Internal Revenue Service has issued several recent consumer warnings on the fraudulent use of the IRS name or logo by internet scamsters trying to gain access to consumers’ financial information in order to steal their identity and assets.  Schemes like these are often referred to as phishing.  Phishing (as in “fishing for information” and “hooking” victims) is a scam where Internet fraudsters send e-mail messages to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal and financial information that can be used to steal the victims’ identity.  Current scams include phony e-mails which claim to come from the IRS and which lure the victims into the scam by telling them that they are due a tax refund.

The IRS does not request personal information via e-mail.   If you receive a suspicious e-mail that claims to come from the IRS, you can relay that e-mail to a new IRS mailbox, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   The website following this article has instructions for sending the bogus e-mail to ensure it retains critical elements found in the original e-mail.

http://www.irs.gov/privacy/article/0,,id=179820,00.html