Douglas County officials warn of fraudulent mailer threatening to seize assets due to an alleged unpaid tax liability

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The Douglas County Courthouse is pictured Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022.

Douglas County officials are warning the public of a fraudulent mailer threatening to seize assets and garnish wages and bank accounts due to an alleged unpaid tax liability.

Social media posts on forums dedicated to news and events in Douglas County from over the weekend called attention to a mailing issued by a “J.S. Brown” from a “Benefits Suspension Unit” for the county, which does not exist. The mailer includes a typo, saying that unit is in “Douglas County County,” and it’s posing as a final notice from the State of Kansas claiming the recipient owes a certain amount in unpaid tax liability that must be paid to avoid any consequences. It also directs recipients to call an 800 number that isn’t connected to any Douglas County department to pay.

On Monday, county spokesperson Karrey Britt confirmed to the Journal-World that the mailer wasn’t sent by the county, and it’s directing people who receive the mailer to contact the Kansas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 785-296-2215 or www.ag.ks.gov/in-your-corner-kansas to report the scam.

The county also offered a number of other tips to help the public avoid scams:

* Be aware of mailers that include typos, errors in grammar or generic names or phone numbers that don’t seem to match with Douglas County’s.

* It’s a scam if someone is threatening you with arrest or seizure of property unless you pay a sum of money — especially within the same day that you received a mailing.

* Verify any phone numbers listed, and don’t call a number provided by someone threatening you. Instead, the county recommends using a verified number to contact the government agency that could best help you determine if you owe taxes.

* Avoid unusual payment methods like Bitcoin, gift cards or requests to wire money, and keep personal information like Social Security and account numbers private unless you’ve called an official government agency using a number you’ve independently verified.

COMMENTS

Welcome to the new LJWorld.com. Our old commenting system has been replaced with Facebook Comments. There is no longer a separate username and password login step. If you are already signed into Facebook within your browser, you will be able to comment. If you do not have a Facebook account and do not wish to create one, you will not be able to comment on stories.