We’ve seen some misleading advertising before, but this one is a doozy. A company called “Property Tax Reassessment” is sending homeowners in California a fake tax document that looks official, and that attempts to con recipients into paying $179 before February 26th so that the company can file some paperwork on their behalf. There’s even a late fee threat for missing the deadline! It’s some of the most convincing looking junk mail we’ve ever seen, and it’s a total scam.

More than one person has alerted us to the scam, but Susannah scanned the form and sent it in, along with this description (emphasis ours):

The attached letter arrived in the mail today at our California home. Designed in detail to replicate the look of a property tax bill, the letter demands the recipient file a property tax “Reassessment Application” with them before a prominently-featured deadline.

The fee demanded by the letter is to pay “Property Reassessment” to file forms requesting a property tax reassessment that we could do ourselves.

The letter blathers about how there is a service fee due by February 26 and that if it is late there will be $30 late fee. But it turns out the letter is from a place called “Property Tax Reassessment” with a PO Box in Los Angeles. We have our property assessed by the County we live in, not in Los Angeles.

(Thanks to Susannah and ChedZ!)

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.