Taxpayers are always looking for ways to cut tax bills. Unfortunately, scam operators are always looking for filers who are eager to find tax breaks.

Con artists work year-round, but every filing season they get a bump in business as thousands of citizens are easy prey for tax-oriented schemes. To entrap taxpayers, some scammers come up with some patently false tax schemes to wheedle personal information and money from unsuspecting filers who think they are complying with tax laws. Other scammers take real tax breaks, or portions of legal write-offs, and illegally apply them.

And whenever any new tax law appears, you can be sure that criminals immediately look for ways twist it to their nefarious ends. So it's no surprise that rebate-related scams are showing up nationwide. Watch "Tax changes for 2008"

But the most prevalent tax-related rip-off is an oldie but baddie: phishing. This identity theft technique moved from No. 3 last year to No. 1 on the 2008 version of the IRS's "dirty dozen" tax scam list. The collection of the 12 most blatant tax scams is updated each year.

Other cons making a repeat appearance on the list include: frivolous tax arguments, retirement scams, misuse of trusts and improper charity deductions. Joining the rebate swindles as new additions are: a fuel credit scam and illegally hiding money in offshore accounts. And, as in past years, some folks can't even trust their tax pros, with unscrupulous preparers once again making the annual list.

"Taxpayers should be wary of scams and promises to avoid paying taxes that seem too good to be true," said acting IRS Commissioner Linda Stiff in announcing this year's list. "There is no secret formula that can eliminate a person's tax obligations. People should be wary of anyone peddling any of these scams."

One big reason to keep up your guard is that tax scams can cause serious problems not just for the perpetrators, but also for their victims. If convicted of tax fraud or evasion, return preparers and scam promoters face penalties, interest and possible criminal prosecution. And taxpayers who bought into a scam, even if they are unwitting victims, also could pay a steep tax price, owing not only the tax they thought they were avoiding, but also penalties and interest. Watch "Most common tax-filing mistakes"

To help you avoid such unwanted tax consequences, be aware of these dozen common, and potentially costly, tax scams.

IRS scam list for 2008

1. Phishing 7. Zero wage claims 2. Stimulus rebate scams 8. False tax abatement requests 3. Frivolous tax argurments 9. Return preparer fraud 4. Fuel tax credit scams 10. Disguised corporate ownership 5. Hiding income offshore 11. Misuse of trusts 6. Abusive retirement plans 12. Improper charitable deductions

1. Phishing
More identity thieves than ever are using tax-themed fake e-mails to try to get personal financial information. Once they do, then you can say goodbye to your good financial reputation and hello to a prolonged hassle to clean up the mess. These criminals use the information to empty victims' bank accounts, run up credit card charges and apply for loans or credit in the victims' names.

Some phishing e-mails falsely claim to come from the IRS, usually asking the recipient to send the personal data in a reply e-mail or to click on a link that takes the reader to a fake IRS Web page. Don't fall for this fake bait. The IRS never uses e-mail to contact taxpayers about tax issues. Never respond to such a request and never follow any links in suspect e-mails. The only official IRS Web site is at www.irs.gov, and your safest move is to go there yourself directly if you have tax questions.

To date, taxpayers have forwarded more than 33,000 scam e-mails, reflecting more than 1,500 different schemes using a tax hook, to the IRS. If you get such a solicitation, add to that tally by forwarding the e-mail to the IRS's at phishing@irs.gov. And if you ever have any doubt as to whether any IRS contact is authentic, call (800) 829-1040 to confirm it.