Tax season is not a favorite time of year for most of us, but it’s drawing near in many parts of the world.

For those in the U.S., the April 15 income tax filing deadline is quickly approaching. Unfortunately, tax season has its own set of security traps that you’ll need to watch out for, with cyber scammers jumping to take advantage of the swell in online activity and the handover of personal information.

Here to help is a handy list of common tax schemes to be aware of, courtesy of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Dubbed the ‘dirty dozen’ and released on an annual basis, the 2010 list was just published this week by the IRS.  Important to note: taking a spot on the top 12 list is a warning on phishing, where the IRS cautions taxpayers to be on the lookout for IRS impersonation schemes which, it says, abound during tax filing season, spreading through e-mails, tweets, and fraudulent websites. Take a look at the full ‘dirty dozen’ scam list to learn more.

Here at Lavasoft, we’ve also put together information that you can turn to to prepare your PC and yourself for tax season scams – read the March issue of Lavasoft News to find out how.