I received an email at about 330 AM saying "your refund is on its way"
it also shows refund processed on one side nd refund refund received on other with a bag of money kind of in middle.
when i go to the IRS to track it tells me it was still accepted but not yet approved. my coworker and friend also got the same email.
Unfortunately, that is a marketing message from TurboTax. They have no idea if your tax refund is being issued. They only go by the estimated date based on the IRS target of 21 days. That is a target only and not a guarantee.
Only the IRS and your State control when and if a Federal or State tax refund is Approved and Issued.
Once a tax return has been Accepted by the IRS or a State, TurboTax receives no further information concerning the tax return or the status of any tax refund.
If accepted by the IRS use the federal tax refund website to check the refund status - https://www.irs.gov/refunds
If accepted by the state use this TurboTax support FAQ to check the state tax refund status - https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1899433-how-do-i-track-my-state-refund
After the tax return has been Accepted by the IRS (meaning only that they received the return) it will be in the Processing mode until the tax refund has been Approved and then an Issue Date will be available on the IRS website.
See this IRS website for federal tax refund FAQ's - https://www.irs.gov/refunds/tax-season-refund-frequently-asked-questions