Davidson County Assessor of Property warns residents of mail scam
The Davidson County Assessor of Property is warning residents of a recent scam, which attempts to solicit money from recipients through an official-looking letter.
"There are a number of red flags that cause concern," County Assessor Vivian Wilhoite said in a news release.
The fraudulent letter notifies recipients of fees from the "Clerks Property Office," supposedly located at a nonexistent Nashville address. The letter instructs recipients to pay their supposed fees by sending money to an address in St. Petersburg, Florida.
While this resembles a letter from the county assessor, according to Wilhoite, this is not an official letter. The county assessor does not collect taxes or fees, Wilhoite said.
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The county assessor appraises taxable property and maintains records such as property maps, addresses, and owners. Every four years, the county assessor conducts a large reappraisal of properties.
The fraudulent letter lists itself as a "solicitation," but Wilhoite wanted to warn residents that it did not come from county officials.
Wilhoite said the scam is possibly connected to the fact that the county assessor sends out Notice of Informal Review letters on May 20.
"The scam letter closely resembles the Notice of Informal Review my office sends out this time of year," Wilhoite said. "We do not want property owners to be confused and become victims."
The county assessor cannot postpone sending Notice of Informal Review letters due to state law, according to Wilhoite.
Several property owners initially notified Wilhoite of the scam, County Assessor Chief Deputy Tammy Williams said in the news release. Since then, the county assessor has been receiving "numerous calls" regarding the fraudulent letter, Williams said.
Scams like this target any individual, regardless of one's education, according to Wilhoite.
"If people want to defraud you, they study this stuff," Wilhoite said. "Someone with an advanced education could fall victim to this."
Wilhoite said she has no idea who the suspects might be and does not know how many fraudulent letters were sent out.
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"I have not contacted law enforcement," Wilhoite said. "That could very well be a next step."
Wilhoite also mentioned potentially working with other county assessors to track the origins of this scam.
"We don't want anybody to fall victim to this," Wilhoite said.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Davidson County residents sees recent mail scam to solicit money
