According to the Internal Revenue Service, more than 1.2 million individuals earn fees for preparing Americans' tax returns, and the Texas AGs office has received "numerous complaints about preparers who fail to file tax returns on time, charge excessive fees, fail to secure anticipated refunds and fail to return personal financial documents to customers."

According to the release, Texans should take four steps before hiring a tax return preparation professional:

--Ask for the taxpayers credentials.

--Check with the Better Business Bureau for complaints against the tax preparer.

--Verify whether the tax preparer is a certified public accountant.

--Make sure the business is open year-round in the event you need to ask follow-up questions about your return.

Terry Tenery, owner and general manager of Liberty Tax Service in Kerrville, said clients should make sure the tax preparer is certified before anything else.

"The people who prepare our tax returns go through training certification before they can prepare simple returns," she said. "Then there is another program for more complicated returns."

Tenery said if a business is offering a cut-rate price, that might tip a client off that there could be reasons for the low prices.

"Also check with the chamber of commerce," she said. "We have a strong local chamber, and clients should assume if it is a legitimate business, they will be registered with our chamber. Ask trusted friends and family for referrals."

Tenery said any firm that charges clients based on the amount of their refund most likely is a scam.

"Most firms charge a flat fee, or they charge by the number of forms they process for the clients. They always should give you an invoice detailing their charges," she said. "And if they promise a client a refund amount, they probably aren't legitimate."

The Attorney General's Office pointed out the IRS never sends out e-mails, and Texans should not respond to e-mails that appear to be from the IRS.

Local H&R Block manager Joe Reeh said the e-mail scams are most prevalent in the Kerrville area.

"We've had several elderly clients that get e-mails from an official looking government Web site, and it asks them for their bank account information," Reeh said. "The IRS never sends e-mails. They will contact you by a certified letter if it is important. I tell the clients to delete those things immediately."

Reeh said the majority of Kerrville tax preparers are legitimate, and he said for people to stick with major national companies and local companies who stay open year round.