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IRS Warning of Criminals Phishing for Your Tax Dollars

The deadline to file your taxes is right around the corner. The IRS warns criminals are out there, looking to steal your important personal information online, by sending out emails pretending to be the IRS and asking for your information.

These emails tell you things like, in order to get your refund you need to send the IRS your social security number or bank account number. When you send that information, the criminal is then able to steal your identity.

Bill and Mary Giguere were the victims of identity theft. They say someone got ahold of their personal information and opened up credit card accounts and even a business in their names.

The couple says "It was a big hassle, getting billed and threatening letters. How come you are not paying your bills and I told them we didn't make those charges. Scary, that is a really scary thought, that they could get our information."

Like many other victims, the Giguere's didn't realize how dangerous tax time can be because so much personal information is exchanged. To help protect their information they bought a shredder in order to dispose of their important documents.

The IRS says, if you get any emails that look like they are from the IRS, do not respond to them. The IRS says it does not use email to communicate with taxpayers.

To report any type of scam, log onto www.phishing@irs.gov.