Second Davidson County official warns of mail scam, encourages to report suspected scams

The Davidson County Register of Deeds is warning residents of a mail scam, following a similar warning from the assessor of property about the same fraud.

"We want people to know that the deed transfer letter is a scam," Register of Deeds Karen Johnson said. "The letter looks very official, so we thought it was important to say something."

The fraudulent letter, which claims to be from the nonexistent "Clerks Property Office," instructs recipients to send $89 to a post office in St. Petersburg, Florida.

While the scam letter calls itself a "solicitation," its official appearance has prompted many calls to county officials.

"There have been some that have put their credit card number on the form," Johnson said. "We never ask for credit card information to be placed on any document whatsoever."

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The register of deeds never sends mass mailings, never solicits money, and can provide a copy of one's deed at no charge, according to Johnson.

Johnson said she encourages residents to report suspected scams to officials.

"It reduces the number of victims that end up being affected by this scam," Johnson said. "We have a full staff available to assist."

The register of deeds also offers a Property Fraud Alert Program, which immediately alerts those who sign up of any filings at the agency in one's name. To sign up, one can visit the register of deeds' webpage.

The register of deeds, as distinguished from the county assessor, records and maintains all deeds and other property documents, according to Register of Deeds Public Information Officer Terry Quillen.

Davidson County Assessor of Property Vivian Wilhoite previously warned residents of the scam letter. Wilhoite said she brought it to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's attention on Tuesday.

"I spoke with their public relations person who was directing this to the appropriate person," Wilhoite said. "They stated that they would follow back up with me."

Wilhoite said she was concerned residents could confuse the scam letter with the county assessor's Notice of Informal Review letter, which officials sent around the same time.

"If you see something that's come in the mail and you're not sure," Wilhoite said, "Call your officials in the government to ensure that you are, in fact, doing the right thing."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Another Davidson County official warns of mail scam sweeping area