The subject line alone was enough to unmask this criminal mastermind: "This message it is confidential."

This message it is really not from the IRS.

We've all seen cruder and more laughable specimens, but this one caught my eye because it showed up minutes after a call from my wife informing me that our refund check had arrived. That the real tax man would be sending a confirmation e-mail was conceivable for the split second it took me to hop from the phony sender address — about@irs.taxrefund.gov — to the stilted "This message it is …"

Inside, however, we find only the inconceivable.

"This is Francis V. from the Refund Operations Department at Internal Revenue Service (United States Department of the Treasury). After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $184.23."

Bu ... bu … but, Fran, my man, our accountant — a fella we've trusted for years — had calculated our refund at an amount with another digit attached. How could he have gone so far wrong? And, as noted, we've already gotten the check from Uncle Sam.

No matter, Francis V. is on a roll.

"Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-9 days in order to process it. A refund can be delayed for a variety of reason. For example (invalid records or applying after the deadline). The good news is that Internal Revenue Service will make this refund directly to your visa and/or mastercard linked to your checking/savings account instead a check or a direct deposit."

Francis V. is from the government and he's here to help. All you have to do is cooperate by following a few simple steps.

"To access the form for your tax refund, please download our secure server form at the attachment file below this letter."

Even in the interest of writing this column, I dared not go near that attachment.

"Important: Do not use credit and/or american express or discover cards. Only cards that are linked to your checking/savings account are accepted."

Experts insist that people fall for this stuff and I'm sure that's true in general. Francis V., however, needs to polish his skills or find another line of crime … and, according to his online trail, he's been at this since at least 2007.

Yet he is nothing if not polite: