Property tax scam targeting Idaho homeowners

BOISE (KIVI) – The Idaho Attorney General’s office and Idaho State Tax Commission are warning Idahoans about a new scam targeting Idaho homeowners.

If you received a flyer asking you to call an 800-number for free help, it’s a scam and Idaho officials are warning you not to fall for it and to protect your personal information.

“It does look relatively official so it does seem like it’s coming from a legitimate government agency and in this case, it is not so we really encourage you to not call the number,” Idaho State Tax Commission Program Specialist Pam Waters said.

The fake flyer circulating around states you could reduce your property taxes by $15,000 if you call the number, but it’s fake, according to the Idaho State Tax Commission and Attorney General’s office.

“The flyer is an attempt to get personal information from Idahoans. It contains inaccurate details about the state’s property tax reduction program,” said Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.

“It has a phone number for them to call to get a property tax rebate and telling them a filing deadline for a program we do have but doesn’t meet that kind of criteria,” Waters said. “We have a regular property tax reduction program more commonly known as a circuit breaker for those who have been on it for a long time. It’s an income-based program for people over the age of 65 or disabled so there is an income component to that and we do get proprietary information from that program which is why this is so alarming.”

If you do get a flyer like this, call your county assessor’s office to confirm or shred it.