There's a new "phishing" scam designed to trick you into revealing your confidential financial information. Here's what you need to know. The email will say it is from "tax refunds @ irs.gov," but in reality the IRS does not contact taxpayers via email about their refunds or tax returns. You have two options for dealing with the email. First option: you can safely delete that email. Second option: you can display the full header information, and forward the email to forward to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at phishing@irs.gov. The law enforcement officials at the Treasury Department will then investigate the email, and hopefully bring the criminals to justice.

PC Magazine got ahold of a phishing email, and posted screen shots of what the email looks like.

There's two simple and safe ways to check the status of your tax refund. You can call the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040, or you can use the IRS' own Where's My Refund tracking service.