PROPERTY OWNERS WARNED OF TAX SCAM

The Clatsop County Assessment and Taxation Department is warning local residents of a property tax scam targeting homeowners.

A county resident recently forwarded to the department a form carrying a return address from “Property Tax Adjusters” in Granada Hills, California stating that the person could receive a large property tax refund for a $189 “service fee.”

The form and the come-on are similar to other scams reported in other states, in which people are told their home values are over-assessed as a result of the recession-driven drop in housing prices, and that the company can perform a “reassessment” and secure the owner a tax refund.

The form turned in to the Clatsop County office contains official-looking ID numbers and a bar code, and lists a response deadline. It lists the recipient’s name and address, as well as assessed value of the property. The form states that the property is overvalued by more than $100,000 and that the owner could save more than $1,500 a year in property taxes.

The form asks the recipient to send in an attached “authorization form” along with $189 as a “service fee.” It adds that the company will “thoroughly review your individual property value,” and that if it determines the owner is not entitled to a reduction, the fee will be refunded.

The Oregon Attorney General’s Office last week issued a warning about the scams, which go under such names as “Tax Review,” “Tax Adjusters” and “Tax Reassessment.”

For more information contact the Clatsop County Assessment and Taxation Department at (503) 325-8522. If you have been targeted by this or any other type of scam, contact the Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Hotline at 1-877-877-9392.