IRS Warns of Bogus Tax-Refund E-Mail

The Internal Revenue Service has issued an alert about an Internet Phishing scam in which consumers receive an e-mail, purportedly from the IRS, informing them that they are eligible to receive a tax refund for a specific amount. The e-mail, which claims to be from "tax refunds @irs.gov," directs the consumer to a link that requests personal information, such as Social Security numbers and credit card information. IRS officials stress that the agency does not ask for personal identifying or financial information via unsolicited e-mails. Anyone receiving such an e-mail should not open any attachments because they may contain a malicious code that will infect your computer. Call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040 to determine whether the agency is trying to contact you about a tax refund.

Cost of 12 Days Up 6%

"The twelve days of Christmas" will cost $18,348 this holiday season - a 6.1% increase over last year - according to the 21st annual PNC Christmas Price Index. The tongue-in-cheek tabulation of what it would cost to buy five golden rings ($325), hire 12 Lords a Leaping ($10,947) and make all the other purchases mentioned in the traditional holiday carol are substantially higher due to this year's increased shipping, fuel and handling costs. The survey found these costs closely follows the overall Consumer Price Index trends. PNC Advisor Rebekah McCahan says "to think that the cost of a partridge in a pear tree would mirror what's going on at Target, for example, is pretty interesting.