Beware tax-themed e-mail spam

Feeding on the usual American anxiety over the annual April 15 income tax filing, online scam artists are flooding e-mail inboxes with promises of a guaranteed tax rebate, faster tax refunds, or even tax relief.

As Tax Day fast approaches, bear in mind some tips from the IRS:

• The IRS will never contact you via e-mail or phone to ask for your personal tax information. (Lately, there have also been reports of spammers leaving voicemails, posing as an IRS employee asking you to fill in some “holes” in your tax return. Ignore them.)

• The IRS won’t ask for PIN numbers or security codes for your bank or credit cards.

• Beware any e-mails that appear to come from the IRS saying that you’ve earned a refund, that you’re under audit, or that your response is requested for a survey. (Send those suspicious e-mails instead to phishing@irs.gov.)

Also of use: In their most recent report, Symantec has released the top tax- and mortgage-related subject lines that end up on our mailboxes. (Spammers also seem to have an aversion to correct punctuation.)

If you plan to file your tax return electronically, the Electronics Blog on Friday offered some safety tips and reminders. You can find more on Internet security at our Online Security Guide. And for more information and year-round tips about your taxes, see the Tax section of ConsumerReports.org.