Don't be fooled by a phony e-mail that appears to come from the Internal Revenue Service.

The wording in the subject line urges the recipients to "please submit your Stimulus Payment form."

It's an enticing invitation some recipients might fall for, especially if they believe they qualified for last year's stimulus check and didn't receive it.

Here's the pitch the crooks are throwing: "After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity, we have determined that you are eligible to receive a Stimulus Payment. Please submit the Stimulus Payment Online Form in order to process it.

"A stimulus payment can be delayed for a variety of reasons, for example, submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

"To submit your Stimulus Payment Form, please download the document attached to your e-mail.

"Note: If filing or preparation fees were deducted from your 2007 refund or you received a refund anticipation loan, you will be receiving a check instead of a direct deposit.

"Regards, Internal Revenue Service."

Inquiring minds might want to know what "annual calculations" of "fiscal activity" the e-mail is referring to. Might it be the recipient's 2007 income tax return? It doesn't say.

The warning that "invalid records" or missing a "deadline" might delay the stimulus payments is so much nonsense. As for downloading the document attached to the e-mail, do nothing of the sort. Delete it.

On its Web site, www.irs.gov, the IRS says it doesn't use e-mail or the telephone to communicate with taxpayers. It said that the scam artists are trying to trick people into revealing personal financial information that can be used to access their financial accounts.

The IRS said individuals who were eligible for the 2007 stimulus payment didn't have to do anything "in most cases" other than file a 2007 federal tax return.

"But some criminals posing as IRS representatives are trying to trick taxpayers into revealing personal financial information by falsely telling them they must provide information to get a payment," the agency said.

The IRS urges taxpayers to be "extra vigilant" about such scams.

If you have questions about anything you receive from the IRS, go to its Web site or call toll free 1-800-829-1040.

Here's an idea for online purchases, especially if you are a frequent Internet shopper. Use a separate credit card with a limit of, say, the price of a cross-country airline ticket. If there's any problem with the purchase or a thief steals your card number, you'll still have your regular credit card while you resolve the problem or, in the case of theft or unauthorized use of the online card, cancel it and wait for a new one.

If your January heating bill was so high that you're contemplating drilling for gas in your backyard, call your gas company and see whether you can get a lower rate. Several readers said they have done so in recent weeks and saved as much as $2 for a thousand cubic feet of gas.

You'll find the gas company toll-free phone number on the first page of your bill, usually near the top.

A veteran skier traveled to Whistler Blackcomb last month to enjoy a week of snow-sliding at the largest ski resort in North America.

He used his cell phone every day to stay in touch with family and friends. He also used it to access his voice mail at home and the office so he wouldn't have to return dozens of calls when he returned.

Although the calls he made were to phones in the 412 and 724 area codes, he didn't realize he was being charged 69 cents a minute for each call because he was in a "foreign country" -- Canada.

The result was a wireless bill 10 times higher than usual. Check with your cell phone company before using it beyond the U.S. borders -- it might have a money-saving, out-of-country plan you can use.

As for me, I'll either not use my cell phone, or be far less talkative, the next time I cross the border.