Because it's a pretty sure thing that a rebate check from the U.S. government will show up in your mailbox come spring or early summer (if you qualify), you may find yourself more than a little eager to get your hands on the dough. And that could make you a sitting duck for any number of scams lurking in the shadows.

The Internal Revenue Service is warning us to beware of several current e-mail and telephone scams that use the IRS' name and your impending rebate as bait to scam you out of some or all of it.

Typically, these scammers trick people into revealing personal and financial information, such as Social Security numbers, bank account information and credit card numbers. Then they use the information to commit identity theft, emptying the victim's financial accounts, running up charges on the victim's existing credit cards, applying for new loans, credit cards, services or benefits in the victim's name, filing fraudulent tax returns, or even committing crimes.

Most of these fraudulent activities can be committed electronically from a remote location, including overseas. Doing these things in cyberspace allows scammers to act quickly and cover their tracks before the victim becomes aware of the theft.

People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years -- and their hard-earned money -- cleaning up the mess thieves have made of their reputations and credit records. In the meantime, victims may lose job opportunities, be refused loans, education, housing or cars -- or even get arrested for crimes they didn't commit.

Of course, you need to be wary of outsiders who have their sights trained on your rebate, including short-term lenders, who gladly will charge you 30 percent interest or more to advance your rebate.

But there's someone else you need to think about: you.

Possibly the biggest temptation you will face is to the spend that money early, using a credit card, with the plan to pay it all back as soon as that check arrives.

If you do that, you run a terrible risk of plunging yourself into debt. Here's why:

You have no idea how many other little "needs" are going to crop up between now and then. If you go out and put $300 or $600 on your credit card in anticipation of that check, the chances of you actually using the check to pay that debt are slim. I can nearly guarantee that the week before the check arrives, something else is going to come up. It always does. And you will feel compelled to let the credit charge morph into monthly payments as you decide to use the rebate funds to cover some more pressing need.

I have a better idea: Make your plans, decide where that money will go, then take a chill pill. Ignore all the e-mails. Hang up on the callers.

It's a simple concept: Wait until you have the money before you spend the money.

Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 17 books, including "Debt-Proof Living." You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. To find out more about Mary Hunt and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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