It’s that time of year again.

Scammers are out there trying to exploit TurboTax customers who remember that crooks last year stole thousands of taxpayers’ refunds by filing fraudulent online tax returns in their name.

This year, con artists are sending out legitimate-looking, but fake e-mails purportedly from TurboTax, logo and all, asking consumers to “Confirm Your TurboTax account,’’ “Update your information,’’ or “Unlock your account.’’

The intent of these phishing expeditions is to get you to reveal your TurboTax login, which scammers would then use to claim your refund or commit identity theft.

Notices trying to confirm your identity are all the more convincing — and insidious — this year because Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, was widely criticized last year for failing to implement a more robust set of security measures. So even the most savvy of consumers might now be induced to click on the phony “click here’’ or sign-in links, thinking that the company is trying to protect its customers.

But don’t, Intuit says. “We never ask people to provide their name or other personally identifiable information via ­e-mail,’’ a spokeswoman said.

To try to combat the scamming, Intuit has boosted its security measures this year, ­including allowing customers to use fingerprinting to access their accounts and expanding its multifactor authentication process.

The company also has issued more than 60 security alerts cautioning customers not to fall prey to dozens of new e-mail scams.

One fake e-mail on Intuit’s list asks for account confirmation. It says: “Some information on your account appears to be missing or incorrect. Please confirm your information promptly so that you can continue to enjoy all the benefits of your TurboTax account.’’

It then warns: “If you don’t confirm your information, we’ll limit what you can do with your TurboTax account.’’

Edgar Dworsky, founder of ConsumerWorld.org and a former state assistant attorney general, said consumers should always double-check the link in such ­e-mails to see where it takes them. To do this, hover your mouse over the hyperlink and check the status line or bubble that pops up to see where the link actually takes you.

“Don’t get sucked in,’’ Dworsky said. “A legitimate TurboTax link will take you to turbotax.com or intuit.com, not to a lookalike site in some foreign country. Do not — I repeat — do not click on any links in these types of e-mails.’’

Have a consumer question or complaint? Reach Colman M. Herman at colman@verizon.net.