Bay of Plenty residents are being warned not to risk having their details stolen as another scam circulates in the region.

A hoax email is being sent out asking people to ring a telephone number to confirm their billing address while others claim to offer a tax refund.

The Inland Revenue Department's group manager service delivery, Heather Daly, says the email directs people to a fake web page with an IRD logo.

'People are asked to enter personal details, including their user name and credit card details.

'Anyone who provides information is risking having their details stolen.

'We know a number of these emails are circulating and our advice to people is to ignore them.”

Heather says people should be careful about giving out personal details and anyone who has replied to the scams should contact their band or credit card provider.

'The websites use the Inland Revenue brand to try to access credit card account details of people visiting the sites.

'Our advice is to never click on any links within a suspicious email, do not reply to the email and delete it from your inbox.

'If they click the link and enter their bank details, they should change their password immediately.”

She says as the scams are sourced from overseas it is a challenge to track down those responsible.

'When they appear we act to get them taken down as quickly as possible – generally within 24 hours.”