Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph is warning local taxpayers to be on the lookout for a potential new scam after tax collector customers were targeted in one Florida Panhandle community.
Randolph’s warning comes after the Okaloosa County Tax Collector’s office alerted local residents to the threat of a new mail and phone scam. The scam involves fraudulent letters presented on letterhead that closely resembles the local Tax Collector’s official letterhead and identifies the office as an agent of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The letter also includes IRS forms to be completed and returned with certified funds.
Tax Collector Randolph emphasized that the Tax Collector’s office is not an agent of the IRS and that his office will never send official correspondence with IRS forms. “Our office does not collect income taxes, so if you see a letter from your county Tax Collector requesting that you complete income tax forms, that’s a sign of a scam,” Randolph said.
Randolph said his office is not aware of this particular scam occurring in Orange County, but urged local residents to be vigilant. Scammers can be very aggressive when contacting a potential victim and often communicate in a threatening tone. Many scammers will demand immediate payment and threaten law enforcement action if a victim does not make a payment over the phone.
If you feel you’ve been the victim of a tax scam:
- Contact your local police department or the Sheriff’s Office to file a report;
- Report the incident to the three major credit bureaus, Equifax at 1-888-766-0008, TransUnion at 1-800-680-7289 and Experian at 1-888-397-3742;
- Contact your bank or financial institution and report the incident to your creditors; and
- Report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at gov/tigta/contact_report_scam.shtml and the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.
