The Centre County tax office says scammers have been calling residents and falsely claiming that tax bills are due. Centre County administrator John Franek says that the tax office would never ask for personal information like a credit card number over the phone. He says that if you get one of these calls, hang up, and immediately report it to the tax office and local law enforcement.
Franek says they started receiving notice of the scam calls from county residents over the last two weeks. He says they have been working with local law enforcement to try and figure out who is behind the scam.
He says that if the centre county tax office needs to reach you, they will typically do it through the mail.
“We will never call and ask for personal or financial information over the phone, If a resident is concerned about a call that they would get, they are more than likely to call the tax office and verify the legitimacy of the inquiry,”
He says from what they have heard, the scammers are posing as county tax office workers and asking for immediate payment for delinquent taxes. He says most of the residents they have heard from are senior citizens, who seem to be the biggest target.
“We understand that they may not be comfortable with technology and we can accommodate those needs, as far as if they would like to do something in person, they’re more than welcome to call our office and we will have a conversation with them if they initiate the contact,”
State Rep. Paul Takac is hosting a ‘Scam Seminar’ on Thursday for senior citizens at Centre Care in College Township. He says that as technology continues to advance, the threat of falling victim to a scam is only increasing.
“This is an ever-evolving field and a lot of times they are leveraging new technologies, things like artificial intelligence and other ways to actually spoof a legitimate business or even a loved one, So it’s really important that people be aware of what a legitimate company would come to them with,”
Takac says the scam seminar will start at 1 p.m. on Thursday and will be a part of Centre Care’s ‘Senior Fair’. He says he wants to provide the most up-to-date information to help protect local senior citizens.
