Sheriff's office warns of tax refund ruse

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is warning residents of an online identity theft and fraud scheme perpetrated by suspects sending a ruse e-mail resembling an official refund notification from the Internal Revenue Service.

The e-mail is titled "Tax Refund Msg" from an e-mail address of irs@irs.com.

When opened, the message appears as a Web page from the IRS, advising of a tax refund payable to the recipient.

The recipient is instructed to provide their Social Security or tax identification number, as well as their name, address, date of birth, and credit/debit card account information to get the refund.

This site has been confirmed by the IRS to be fraudulent.

Residents who receive any e-mail or online solicitations requesting their identification information such as name, Social Security number, date of birth, driver's license number should be wary of fraud.

Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jim Halsey said a commercial business or public agency conducting an online refund transaction would already know the identification information of the person they are dealing with and would not be soliciting it.

Additionally, any official government agency Web site will end in a .gov or .org address, he said..

Residents who receive online, telephone or mailed solicitations for personal information are advised to contact that business or public service entity first to determine if the solicitation is valid.