Times Staff Report

CROWN POINT | Lake County Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez is warning the public about a bogus e-mail purportedly coming from the IRS offering a tax refund.

The sheriff said the e-mail is another phishing scam attempting to get the individual to respond to the e-mail with personal information in order to claim a cash rebate.

He said the e-mail contains an attachment that is a link to his department's Web site.

Dominguez said the e-mail has nothing to do with the Sheriff's Department, which is being mentioned improperly to add legitimacy to the request for personal information.

The sheriff said there is no cash rebate.

Sending information to the e-mail site could open a victim to identity theft crimes that could be very costly, he said.