The Bush administration’s economic-stimulus tax rebate program, under which the Internal Revenue Service is issuing taxpayers payments of as much as $1,200, has given rise to a new wave of phishing scams, according to a new FBI notice.

The phishing messages claim that the fastest way to receive one’s economic stimulus tax rebate is through direct deposit.

They include a Web link to an online submission form designed to steal submitted information from those fooled into believing that providing personal data will hasten the arrival of their tax rebate.

It tries to get you to sign up for direct deposit by clicking a link that connects you to a site that looks almost identical to the IRS’s. But it’s not. Like any phishing e-mail, the senders are just looking to steal your Social Security number and bank account information.