From the Attorney General's office in Pierre comes word of a scam from crooks who claim to be from the Internal Revenue Service.

Now, I don't care what your opinion of the IRS is. This is someone using the name of the nation's tax collector and trying to get your personal information.

Attorney General Marty Jackley says consumers need to use caution when visiting websites that either associate themselves with the IRS or look like the IRS site.

Jackley says his office's Consumer Protection Division has received reports from state residents who have received e-mails from these scammers.

He says the e-mail indicates that the 'IRS' has identified an error in the calculation of your tax return and want to return the excess payment back to you.

But here's the scam: In order for them to return the funds, you are asked to create a Tax Gateway account to apply the credit. And Jackley says this is nothing more than a link to access your personal identifying information.

Remember: The IRS doesn't do business this way, so don't fall for the scam.

So if you get an e-mail like this, you can contact the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040, or Jackley says you can call the Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-300-1986.

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