The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers to beware of IRS impersonators sending emails that could result in identity theft. Official say the email looks official but it is dangerous to you and your computer.

The scam email appears official and to come from the IRS. It tells recipients to fill out an attached form and fax it in. Or another scam email ask you to click on a link and provide personal information online

No matter what approach the scammers use, there are two things the IRS needs people to remember:

• The IRS never sends e-mails about your taxes.
• If you get a scam e-mail, don’t access any links or attachments.

The link or attachment in a scam email, may have allowed the scammers to download malicious software to your computer. If you have fell prey to these emails immediately scan for viruses and spyware, plus be alert for suspicious activity on your financial accounts.

If you provided private information immediately take steps to prevent identity theft. Steps include contacting the Federal Trade Commission and go to my Recovery and Protection pages within my website.

Taxpayers can help the IRS stop scammers by sending the original scam email to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov. The email must be forwarded using special instructions at IRS.gov or it loses the encoding needed to track it to its source

For more information about tax scams, visit the IRS Web site and check out the Dirty Dozen, a list of tax scams updated each year by the IRS.  The IRS also provides information on its Web site to help taxpayers protect their personal and financial information.  Just type “Identity Theft” in the key word search feature for additional information.