If someone should come to your home, claiming to be from the property assessor’s office, wanting to come inside to take measurements, beware!. It could be a scam.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that while no such incident has yet been reported in DeKalb County, the scam has occurred in counties close by. “Homeowners should be aware of this scam. Its where two individuals, most of the time males, will come up to a homeowner, knock on their door, and tell the homeowner that they are from the tax assessor’s office and that they need to come inside of their home and measure rooms for tax purposes,” said Sheriff Ray.
“The way the scam works is that one of the guys keeps the homeowner occupied, while the other guy, who is equipped with a tape measure and some writing materials, will go around and act like he is measuring out rooms. The whole time he is in there, he is stealing medication, cash, jewelry, and anything that he can put in his pocket. He is stealing that from the homeowner,” he said.
“I called the DeKalb County Tax Assessor’s Office. They told me that they very rarely go inside of a home to do any kind of tax appraisals. Any measuring they have to do on any building is measured from the outside, not the inside. They also use vehicles with signs on them while on official duty stating that they are from the DeKalb County Tax Assessor’s Office,” said Sheriff Ray.
If you suspect you may be the target of such a scam, Sheriff Ray urges you to contact his office to report it. ” I would appreciate it if you would give us a call here at the jail where our detectives could start investigating. You can also call the Tax Assessor’s Office at 597-5925 to verify any time that somebody there is doing a taxation of the property. If somebody does come to your house, stating that they are from the taxation department or the Tax Assessor’s office, call the 215-3000 number, which is our dispatch line, and a deputy will come down and check on it,” he said.
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